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PRACTICAL HEALTH 



PRACTICAL 
HEALTH 



BY 

Leander Edmund Whipple 



Third Edition 



GREENWICH, CONN. 

The American School of Metaphysics 

1914 



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Copyright, 1914 

BY 

The American School or Metaphysics 



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JUL 13 1914 

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CONTENTS. 

Preface — To the First Edition. 
, Preface — To the Third Edition. 
Chapter I. — Thought Action in Sickness. 
II. — Thought Action in Health. 
III. — The Specific Image Treatment. 
IV. — Thought-Transference. 
V. — The Folly of Worry. 
VI. — The Value of Calmness. 
VII. — The Usefulness of Occult Study. 
VIII. — Healing Methods. 
IX. — Causative Images. 
X. — Mental Safeguards. 
XL — The Nature of Disease. 
XII. — Remedies. How to Use the Mind. 
XIII, — Self-Help. Mental Protection. 
XIV. — Man^ Nature and Health. 
XV. — The Nervous Nature of Disease. 
XVI. — Emotion in Sickness and in Cure. 
XVII. — Self-Control and Health. 
XVIII. — Curative Thought. 
XIX. — The Supremacy of Mind. 



PREFACE. 

One of the most important topics of the hour is 
how to use the mind rightly for practical purposes in 
individual life. Interest in the subject has been rapidly 
growing for many years ; and the literature of the day 
shows in many ways a strong undercurrent of inquiry 
as well as a development of knowledge along the lines 
that lead to practical results. 

All of these lines of progress exhibit varieties of 
the same general appreciation of the importance of 
understanding the finer forces of nature and of our 
being, which are not manifest in sense-action; and of 
the more subtile operations of the mind that are often 
overlooked while hurrying to and fro in personal 
affairs. 

The ideas advanced on the intricate processes of 
the higher faculties are not all of them sufficiently 
sound to assure a right judgment. There is however 
a certain degree of truth underlying all the reasonings, 
and a correct interpretation that all may understand 
is vitally important. 

The prevailing thought of a community affects, 
in some measure, the minds of all the individual mem- 

III 



IV 

bers ; hence the especial importance that a new line of 
thinking should have a correct start. In no one line, 
perhaps, is this necessity more marked than in the 
application of thought to healing — a field of action in 
which the public is today greatly in need of every 
genuine influence toward healthful conditions, un- 
mixed with error and without any avoidable delay. 

Since the publication in 1893 of ''The Philosophy of 
Mental Healing," there has been a continuous de- 
mand for a book that should present the principles and 
ideas therein explained in a more practical form for 
every day use. This need was recognized from the 
first ; but the earlier writings took the form of lessons 
for definite Instruction in the healing art, whereby the 
deep principles involved could be more thoroughly 
presented and demonstrated. The growth of this work 
has been steady and continuous since its beginning, 
and it is of the utmost importance; but it does not 
entirely meet the more general demand for a book to 
read and pass along to inquiring acquaintances, for 
there are many such who cannot settle down to a con- 
tinuous study of a new subject. The writing of the 
present work was undertaken accordingly for the pur- 
pose of meeting these requirements, to a reasonable 
extent. The desire today for practical knowledge in a 
concentrated form comes from all directions and is 
expressed by multitudes. 



Every author knows the difficulties attendant upon 
concentrating the results of extensive thinking into the 
compass of practical expression. In the present case 
there are so many topics which must necessarily include 
all phases of both personal and individual life, that it is 
not easy to give a clear explanation of each without 
becoming too voluminous or leaving unconsidered 
some ideas of vital import. Also the same laws and 
principles are so interw^oven with all the activities 
of life and health, that while writing under various 
heads, endeavoring meanwhile to do justice to 
each subject independently, repetition of expression in 
word and in thought is almost unavoidable. Experience 
shows, however, that the ideas contained in the 
philosophy dealt with are seldom too well understood 
and few if any of them can be advantageously dis- 
pensed with; and repeated statement, in varying 
phraseology, of a truth that is new in idea, sometimes 
causes its deeper impress upon the understanding, also 
aiding the memory. 

The subject in its entirety cannot be exhaustively 
treated in one volume. Other books, some already 
written, will follow this one in due time. Meanwhile 
the teaching course which includes the studies and re- 
searches of the past twenty years and covers the pres- 
ent field of understanding, is open to all inquirers. 
The philosophy is practically unlimited and is entirely 



VI 

unrestricted in its application to human existence. So 
much of it as available space and the purpose with 
which this volume was begun would allow, has been 
included in these pages. The instructions given 
have been thoroughly tested and proved and may be 
relied upon as correct. 

Leander Edmund Whipple. 
New York, January, 1907. 



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 

Since this book was jfirst issued there has been a 
large increase in public interest with regard to the in- 
fluence of the mind in all the affairs of life. Especially 
is this true in connection with all thought about the 
relation of the mind to the body, in the various phases 
of action met with in daily life. The truism is more 
rapidly than ever before becoming established, that, 
**as the mind thinks so the body acts." And this 
action is always in response to the thinking activity 
of the mind. The thought consciously formed in the 
intelligent mind precedes the visible act, which then 
becomes a reproducing duplicate of the operation first 
planned in the mind. The thought therefore is the 
"cause" and the outward action becomes its natural 
"effect." The supreme fact that this is a matter of 
natural law, fundamental to all human and animal 
life, is rapidly assuming shape in the comprehension 
of thinking individuals everywhere. It has been too 
long overlooked by the majority. Its acceptance as a 
foundation fact of individual life opens up many 
channels of exceedingly interesting investigation. The 
explanations of this great law and its workings as 

VII 



VIII 



made in the earlier editions of this work have been 
exceedingly well received, and much thought appears 
to have been given to the subject by those inclined to 
investigate statements for the purpose of proof. The 
readiest ground for demonstrating proof of the effect- 
iveness of this principle of action in life is the healing 
fields where the correspondence of action between the 
actual causative mental operation and its direct repro- 
duction in bodily condition can be calmly observed 
and adequately judged. This has been quietly pro- 
ceeding along these lines of observation and study, 
with the inevitable result that the truly scientific 
powers of the human mind for conducting conscious 
healing processes, are to-day becoming a matter of 
actual knowledge, among the best thinkers of the 
world ; more rapidly than at any other time in history. 
Although there is already an extensive literature on 
healing methods and systems, there appears to be 
almost a dearth of recognition, or at least of descrip- 
tion and explanation of this grand law of life and its 
prolific results. The definite operations of the mind 
are especially important in any such understanding. 

The main object in the original writing of this 
book was to call attention to the facts of this law 
and their importance to all in daily life. This has 
been accomplished, to a considerable degree; and, it 
seems certain that the further circulation through sub- 



IX 



sequent editions will multiply the effects with numbers 
who have not yet had their attention rightly called to 
the real facts of mental life. Other and more exten- 
sive writings are being prepared as rapidly as circum- 
stances will allow, some of which will be presented in 
the near future. The present volume, it is hoped, 
will continue to prepare the way for deeper considera- 
tion of those principles of life and being which, al- 
though limitless in power and action, are capable of 
heing understood. 

The Author. 
Greenwich, Conn., April, 1914. 



I 

Thought-Action in Sickness 



Chapter I. 
THOUGHT ACTION IN SICKNESS. 

The question as to whether any action of thought 
can have an important bearing upon bodily conditions, 
either in sickness or heahh, is receiving a great deal of 
attention in intelligent communities and converts to its 
affirmative theory are declaring themselves in large 
numbers almost daily. The unthinking masses do not 
as yet take up the question seriously, and numbers are 
ready to jeer at every advanced idea presented on this 
and kindred subjects. But singularly, and perhaps 
fortunately, numbers do not count as regards the estab- 
lishment of the truth of any principle, and the negative 
opinion of the masses, even when counted by millions, 
is invariably upset by the genuine discovery of the 
single inventor. Advancement in all ages has always 
come through the efforts and enlightenment of the few 
individual thinkers. This may not quite suit the 
''majority," but it is a fact none can gainsay. It is 
a case where majority rule means ruin; and in any 
event it means stagnation, which always leads eventu- 
ally to an end of the existing conditions, and a loss of 
the truth which might be gained through active intelli- 
gence well exercised. 

But, in the present day, few who think at all, fail 
to recognize the fact that with each person the char- 

9 



10 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

acter of his thought influences his life in certain ways. 
These ways, doubtless, vary with every individual case, 
but it probably will be readily admitted that the laws of 
action involved may be practically the same with alL 
If so, there may be some feasible ground for study that 
shall yield results in knowledge that must help us in 
daily life. 

If the fact above mentioned be established then it 
is easy to consider that the thought-action indulged 
would in some way be likely to affect the body of the 
thinker. This suggestion has led to thousands of tests 
that have clearly proved the existence of a direct rela- 
tion existing between the mind and the body of each 
person, and that the particular mode of thought-action 
evolved by any mind is reproduced in the physical 
action of the body with which that mind is associated. 
In other words, each one's own thought reproduces its 
action in his own body. This once recognized as a 
principle of life-action^ it follows as a logical necessity 
that the character of the thought-action will be found 
also in the bodily action, provided we know how to 
examine and can recognize it when seen. 

This has been repeatedly proved. It is a fact that 
can be tested by any one who will exercise patience, 
study closely the varieties of action under observation 
and learn to trace action from cause to effect, through 
representative operations. 

On its face, sickness is a disturbed or abnormal con- 
dition of the body. But back of this physical condition 
is always to be found a more or less definite state of 
mind, showing conditions that were established pre- 
vious to the appearance of the physical condition of 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN SICKNESS. 11 

sickness. The physical does not, as commonly sup- 
posed, come first and the mental proceed from it, but 
the reverse. The quite common error is the result of 
incomplete as well as imperfect observation of the 
phenomena involved. The exact character of each 
element is seldom recognized by the untrained mind and 
the connection is thereby overlooked. It exists, how- 
ever, and failure to properly understand the fact 
leads to many erroneous opinions. 

First of all, the fact that there are involved in per- 
sonal life two phases of mental action, each distinct 
from the other and both in operation together, is almost 
unknown ; yet without this fact of knowledge little can 
be rightly understood of the mind or its forces. These 
two phases of action or planes of personal life are the 
"conscious" and the "subconscious" mentality. The 
first constitutes man's conscious and volitional action 
during waking moments and includes all those opera- 
tions which he knowingly performs with conscious 
intent or recognition. The second constitutes all the 
action in personal life here which results in bodily 
being, and whatever the mind has known but has 
passed and temporarily forgotten or left out of 
conscious use. The subconscious is of vastly greater 
moment in all details of life, but because of its nature it 
is unknown to the man during his waking hours, there- 
fore all its movements and activities are unrecognized. 
Here rest all memories, which are records of action 
once consciously known, but later stored in the sub- 
conscious realm, to be brought forward again to the 
conscious plane, at will. In this way that which once 
was conscious action becomes subconscious — unrecog- 



12 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

nized, but still active — and is added to the storehouse of 
knowledge that exists within that subtile realm. 

In such ways as these every action that is important 
enough to be stored up for the future, and especially 
that which is sufficiently acute to make a vivid impres- 
sion on the mind, passes into the subconsciousness and 
mingles with other phases of action established there. 
The nature of the thought will be exactly expressed in 
the action stored up in the subconscious realm. Any 
conscious coincidence arising in future life may serve 
to bring this stored-up action in a subconscious memory 
forward to the physical plane, where the character of 
its action will be reproduced in the reflecting action of 
the brain and the nerve-centers. Its first presentation 
to the conscious mind will probably be through the 
sense of feeling; in this event the nervous system will 
reproduce all the original thought, in nervous sensations 
that correspond more or less definitely to the thought 
indulged at the time of the original experience. On 
this plane of feeling the relation between the mind and 
the nervous system is most clear to understand and 
cause and effect can be easily traced. 

Here sickness originates directly from abnormal 
states of mind. And even when it seems quite impos- 
sible that mind can have an3i:hing to do with the con- 
dition, the relation and connection will be found most 
exact, if traced with patience and discrimination along 
the lines indicated. Fear, in its many and varied rami- 
fications, is the most common form of "mental cause" 
of sickness. It is always negative and uncertain in its 
character, distressing in mental quality, and entirely 
abnormal in all its operations. Fear works contrary to 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN SICKNESS. 13 

all life-forces, tends toward weakness and ultimates in 
destruction or, at least, the thought of destruction. If 
it be acute the thought engendered under it is acute; 
then its reproduction reflected in the nervous system 
will be acute, and all the accompanying sensations must 
show forth acute abnormal states ; suffering is the com- 
mon result. The nature of fear is doubt, distrust, 
uncertainty and distress; therefore its sensations are 
distressing and necessarily disturbing in their action. 
Under these circumstances the results in physical func- 
tion and organ can only be distressing and the entire 
evidence becomes that of sickness. 

The fact that the majority — of savants as well as of 
the common people — attribute sickness to some physical 
affair and fail to recognize any connection with the 
mind, does not militate against the argument, for the 
reasons before recited. The fact, which is now unde- 
niable, that hundreds of thousands of tests of this the- 
ory have been made during the past twenty years with 
success, many times when the savants of science have 
declared that hope no longer existed, proves that it is 
more than speculation; and the thousands that have 
received such benefit raise a strong voice in favor of 
the theory which proved a bulwark to them in time of 
dire distress. From the certain knowledge born of 
these repeated tests and the experience thus gained, 
the statement is unhesitatingly made that every known 
form of sickness, disease, distress or malady of either 
body or mind has its origin in the morbific action of 
the mind of man, men or nations; and that in every 
such instance where a wholesome mental change can be 
effected to the extent of establishing the opposite con- 



14 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

dition of thought-action, a full and permanent cure can 
be effected by mental means in natural ways that are 
free from harmful influence. 

It is not difficult for any one who desires the 
information to obtain proof of the statement that dis- 
turbed thought-action is followed by a bodily condition 
that accurately reproduces the thought indulged. A 
careful watch of one's own doings will give the evi- 
dence in most cases. One who worrie s protractedly 
soon develops a lassitude and weariness with more or 
less marked disinclination to physical exertion and a 
tendency to neglect ordinary duties. A physical heavi- 
ness, and slowness of movement are often apparent. 
Food does not digest as usual and assimilation soon 
shows imperfections. Certain forms of headache may 
develop with these tendencies to inaction. If the worry 
is persistent and the temperament at all inclined to be 
morbid a bilious attack is liable, and in extreme cases 
a bilious fever may develop, sometimes becoming 
typhoid. 

There are many degrees of these expressions of dis- 
turbed action, and in each case they will correspond 
more or less exactly to the mental distress that started 
the worry. The mental act of worry — anxiety about 
results ; uncertainty as to self-power for accomplishing 
what seems to be necessary ; fear of loss, or overweight 
of responsibility — reacts upon and expresses itself in a 
certain part of the brain, which is the seat of the nerve- 
force that relates to the moral quality of the sense of 
responsibility. The action once established in nerve- 
tissue in this brain center at once reacts upon the liver, 
which is the organic seat of responsibility of the human 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN SICKNESS. 15 

body, and the even flow of executive ability has now 
become impaired in mind, brain and liver — mental^ 
nervous and organic. The entire physical system may 
soon show this **loss of control/' for when the execu- 
tive head is without natural system and weak in con- 
trol, the entire body follows suit; this is true of any 
organization, personal or social, in business or in 
politics. 

The current medical system attempts to account for 
all of these conditions by means of supposed physical 
causes. It makes the liver responsible for either an 
overplus or an insufficiency of bile; the bile must 
answer for the existing condition with the stomach and 
intestinal tract; the stomach, in turn, is credited with 
the upsetting of the brain and nervous system, and the 
upset NERVES are condemned for destroying the mental 
equilibrium. Thus does materia medica persist in 
climbing the greased pole of materialism backward, 
inevitably landing where it started and recognizing 
little but the pole itself. But all of this is dealing with 
effects, for this entire line of disturbed conditions in 
the body came after the mind was upset by worry, and 
the worry began with the false conception of over- 
responsibility — an abnormal idea with no true founda- 
tion in fact. If there had been no morbid view of 
responsibility, no worry would have started on its mad- 
cap cavorting around the midnight pillow; with no 
worry the brain and nervous system would have 
remained calm and forceful ; then the liver would have 
continued to execute its functional orders in confidence 
of its executive supremacy over organic action, and 
each organ and part would have attended to its own 



16 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

charge, the quiet attention to duty resulting in har- 
monious interaction of organs and functions through- 
out the entire human economy. 

The wrong action of the mind is alone responsible 
for this series of discomforts — often, alas ! vastly more, 
for in the almost total ignorance of these facts of 
human life, every conceivable experiment is practiced 
upon the suffering patient by the anxious physician 
(those of one age invariably denouncing both the the- 
ories and the practice of the preceding ones) in the 
vain hope of curing the symptoms by physical means 
alone, and without even mistrusting the actual cause. 
Such efforts must continue to fail, as regards the estab- 
lishing of an accurate and reliable diagnosis or a per- 
manent and efficient pathology. Some will, of course, 
recover of themselves, regardless of the medicines 
taken, and chiefly because the mental state has changed, 
thus giving relief. Others will recover in spite of the 
drugs administered^ and by virtue of a robust consti- 
tution that overthrows all physical disturbances as soon 
as the mind adjusts its thinking to more moderate 
action. Yet others whose mental worry does not cease, 
the causes seeming to be insurmountable difficulties, 
will continue to dwindle away in suffering and torture 
and finally give up the ghost ahead of the natural time, 
chiefly because so much burden of poison has been 
added to the already overworked organic structure that 
it can stand no more. 

These are usually called the works of "Providence," 
whose mighty power, in these particular cases, renders 
the otherwise "great" power of drugs inoperative, and 
for Divine reasons. No fault of the poisonous effect 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN SICKNESS. 17 

of the drugs, nor yet of the fallacious reasonings 
evolved from the materialistic theory, which establishes 
effects as supposed causes, can be attached to the fail- 
ure ; certainly not ! One success — ^proof positive of the 
scientific status of the entire system. Two failures — 
Divine intervention ; this also proves the "accuracy" of 
the system that has failed. Verily! A fine combina- 
tion. No grease needed here. The self-appointed 
savant doesn't even need to climb ; he slides merely up 
and sits on the top of the pole crying, "Long live 
Materia Medical" But how many of us are satisfied 
with the dose of "Divine intervention" ? 

This has been going on for thousands of years and 
yet medical art is to-day no nearer to scientific grounds 
than when it began. Claims that drug medication is a 
science are groundless, and we shall continue to suffer 
while we believe and trust to them. More sick people 
recover without drugs than with them, and it is safe 
to venture the opinion that the majority of those who 
die before their natural time, as do so many of the sick 
who have the very best available medical attendance, 
die because of the drugs taken rather than from the 
virulence of the disease itself. 

These statements are honestly believed to be true. 
They are given here, not for aggressive purposes, but 
in an appeal to sound thinking rather than the usual 
unthinking state of blind belief in the materialistic man 
of science and his theory of belief only, in whose wake 
goes the angel of death and beside whose door always 
sits the undertaker waiting for the job that he knows 
full well will soon be his. 

We claim here that if the theory of "mental causa- 



18 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

tion through thought-action" be examined with suffi- 
cient care it will be found to contain the "Balm of 
Gilead" in this dilemma, for every disease has a mental 
cause due to the action of the afflicted one himself or 
of others who dominate his mentality; to the mind of 
the community, the nation or the race; and continued 
thought finally becomes a settled conviction, which 
transfers from one to another, passing from age to 
age, and from race to race, thus establishing condi- 
tions that seem so permanent as to be considered fix- 
tures in the univeise. 

The writer offers in evidence twenty years of intel- 
ligent recognition and belief in medical science, with 
constant failure and repeated mistakes by those to 
whom he trusted, with the consequent suffering, dan- 
ger and personal fear, followed by nearly as long a 
period of study and practice of the thought theory, 
enjoying perfect health meanwhile, and with unquali- 
fied success in all ways. During this time thousands 
of cures of otherwise hopeless cases have appeared to 
verify the truth of the theory. Success is so nearly 
universal, when favorable conditions can be secured, 
that it seems as though the best minds of the world 
should be engaged in serious investigation of the sub- 
ject. No greater boon can come to mankind than a 
genuine healing art that can be relied upon for scientific 
resuhs, and be it physical, mental, moral, or spiritual, 
the writer would hail its advent with the utmost 
enthusiasm. 

This, it is believed, is to be the portion of "Mental 
Healing" when it shall receive adequate recognition 
and be thoroughly examined on its own scientific 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN SICKNESS. 19 

groimd. Its system admits of as accurate experiment 
and test as does that of any materialistic method, pro- 
vided the test be made under the natural laws of action 
involved in the system; we might even say more so, 
because, the faculties dealt with are of a higher order 
and all operations are capable of more exact dealing. 

The one mental cause cited, i. e., "Worry," is only 
an illustration ; all mental states affect the bodily organ- 
ism because every thought expresses itself in the 
nervous system, which is the mind's instrument for 
action. A discordant thought can only produce 
nervous disorder and every discordant thought repro- 
duces itself in some degree of nervous distress. Excit- 
ing thoughts will excite the nerve centers and over- 
stimulate the nervous system; if there is fear asso- 
ciated with the excitement, an excited agitation will 
be set up in the nerve-action, which will readily develop 
fever, and any of its attendant phases may become 
established, according to the impelling influence of the 
original thought-action. Every form of fever is a 
reproduction of some phase of excited thought-action 
in the human mind. Without a mind the condition is 
impossible. It never appears in a dead body, neither 
does it continue for an instant after death occurs. 
Nor does it appear in the body of the idiot. 

These facts give food for reflection ; they should 
no longer be ignored. The reasoning faculties have in 
the past been too much exercised under the influence 
of the external senses, and erroneous conclusions 
have been the result. Through right thinking there are 
remedies at hand for all the errors of superficial rea- 
soning. Much of the causation of disease rests in 



20 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

the subconscious department of the mind and this must 
be well considered in evolving any theory. Health for 
the body is at hand, but it must come through knowl- 
edge of the mind which builds and controls it, else the 
body will be defective and correspondingly weak. The 
mind is dual in its action, though a unit in element; 
and every transaction has both its conscious and its 
subconscious phases of action. Both planes of action 
of the mind must be considered in order that the term 
''Mental Cause" may be comprehended. 



II 

Thought-Action in Health 



Chapter II. 
THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 



How to use thought in order io establish and 
maintain health, is the theme of this writing. The prin- 
ciples of mental action described in the previous 
chapter apply here with equal force. The main state- 
ment is that whatever the mind thinks, the action 
involved will be spontaneously reproduced by the 
nervous system, in the corresponding parts of its com- 
plex mechanism. If sufficiently important its entire 
character will be faithfully reproduced in both the 
functional and the organic action of the physical body. 

This fact has already become well established by 
test and experience. It contains great promise and 
hope for all, because the definite law of action in human 
life on which the statement is based makes it possible 
to gain conscious control of that greatly desired power 
through which bodily conditions may be regulated at 
will. Then, if it has become impaired, health may be 
re-established and retained, as doubtless it was origi- 
nally intended that it should be, through intelligent use 
of the natural faculties. 

The power for obtaining such results all rests 
within the natural law of reproductive action which 
operates between the mental picture and the nervous 
system. It is a normal power of the real activities of 

23 



24 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

our being. It is ours. We breathe with it, work with 
it and think by means of it. Yet we do not half use 
it as a power in daily life, chiefly because we do not yet 
realize how completely we have it in our possession 
and under our own conscious control. 

The reproductive law of thought-action is universal 
in human life ; its power is at all times under command 
of the thinking mind. What we will to think we can 
think, and in all the wide universe there is none to 
successfully oppose the act. The will may dominate 
thought, provided we recognize the true nature of the 
law involved and frame its purpose in lawful terms. 
Then the rightful control of thought over bodily 
conditions is assured, and mind is justly master 
of the body. 

This statement does not mean that one who has 
reached the point of recognizing this law will neces- 
sarily exercise the power perfectly at all times. He 
may or may not do so, according to varying circum- 
stances. A complete realization of the law, held con- 
tinuously in conscious operation, would result in a uni- 
versal application of the power; but many circum- 
stances may occur to cause the thought of the individ- 
ual to deviate, and results will register themselves in 
accordance with the conscious thought-action of the 
occasion. The teachings and experiences of personal 
life have previously been so different from those gained 
through the application of metaphysical philosophy, 
that few retain the principles with sufficient clearness 
to apply them equally at all times ; therefore, a slip or 
a failure of application is of no more importance here 
than in other paths of life. The next experience may 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 25 

show a more perfect realization of the power than ever 
before ' demonstrated by that person. Charity in our 
judgment of others who are trying new Hnes of action 
in paths leading to heights not altogether familiar, 
might go further toward helping to see and gain power 
for ourselves, than a too ready ridicule of one who, 
while honestly trying, has, perchance, slipped in some 
steep place. In any event, if he is honest in his pur- 
pose, continued application of the forces within him 
will eventually prove him master of the situation, per- 
haps by means of the knowledge gained through his 
former mistakes. The lesson is invariably the same for 
each and all. Happiest he who profits most by early 
example and experience. 

But the vital question of our present inquiry is: 
What sort of action shall we maintain in life in order 
to gain or retain health? As sickness is the result of 
a disturbed or abnormal condition of the mentality of 
the subject, so health is the natural result of a mind 
at ease, operating in the quiet mentality of normal 
action, which is invariably harmonious with real law. 

Harmonious thought always results in quiet action.- 
In the operation of the mind this means the generation 
of force sufficient for all laudable undertakings. Har- 
mony, quiet and force interact in every natural mental 
activity. A quiet state of mind, therefore, is the first 
requisite, and one of the greatest helps toward a natural 
condition. When we think calmly and in a quiet man- 
ner on any subject, the action involved is harmonious 
and readily operates in tune with the activities of the 
essential ideas of the subject. This generates mental 
power sufficient for dealing intelligently with that sub- 



26 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

ject. The most quiet thought is always productive of 
the best results. This refers to "quiet" as the natural 
calmness of confident thought; not as lethargy or 
inertia in any sense. On the contrary, quiet thought is 
intensely active, and always forceful. 

While consciously entertaining thoughts in the 
expectation of trouble or disturbed action of any sort, 
or while under the influence of fear in any degree or 
of any kind, the mind does not operate quietly, neither 
is it effective in any direction; therefore these states 
of abnormal mentality should always be avoided. Also 
ideas of disturbance or of fear, that have previously 
become established subconsciously, may act unknown 
to the personally conscious mind, thus spontaneously 
keeping it in a state of agitation and unrest. Indeed, 
with many people this is almost a chronic state of men- 
tality. Where any of these conditions exist, therefore, 
the first step should be to remove the cause of mental 
disturbance, by allaying fear, doubt, uncertainty, or 
agitation, and then to establish natural quietude as 
soon as may be possible; after this the mind will act 
intelligently and accomplish results as desired. 

But the average person considers it impossible to 
dispense with fear while a sufficient cause for fear 
exists; or to restore confidence and maintain a calm 
state of mind while there is reason for worry, doubt or 
anxiety. Is it true, then, that with danger there must 
be fear, or that in time of trouble one must continue 
in mental distress ? No, this is not imperatively neces- 
sary. On the contrary, with each one it becomes a 
matter of mental attitude ; and through control of the 
emotions each may choose his own attitude. It is also 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 27 

a fact that yielding to these influences, or continuing to 
indulge the states of mentality that so readily arise 
because of similar fears, invariably increases all of the 
undesirable conditions, thus multiplying troubles. 

This means that through suitable control of the 
will the mind, guided by the higher intelligence, may 
so exercise its conscious thought as to become master 
of the situation, and govern action as desired. One 
who understands the spirituality of man's real being 
and comprehends the superiority of the soul and moral 
qualities, will recognize the comparative insignificance 
of the distinctly personal phases of thought which are 
generated in every-day action. This gives a founda- 
tion for new thought on the subject, which perhaps 
may result in overthrowing some previous views and 
establishing new conditions in life. 

It is not so much what actually occurs as what we 
think about its action, that affects us and establishes 
conditions for future experience. This fact is nearly 
always shown when several persons experience the 
same accident. Although the external conditions are 
practically the same for all, no two of the persons con- 
cerned pass through the accident in the same manner 
or emerge from it in the same condition; and no two 
will think about it in the same way, either during the 
experience, or subsequently thereto. Neither will they 
describe it in the same terms. One, perhaps, sees death 
inevitable, thinks death to the point of anticipating it 
and faints or falls unconscious. If the mental act 
reaches the point of "realization," death ensues instan- 
taneously, even without any physical injury. Another, 
experiencing less fear, yet pales and trembles with 



28 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

fright, becoming wholly or partially unnerved and 
quite helpless. Still another becomes hysterical, but 
retains consciousness, together with some physical con- 
trol of his faculties. Yet another sees danger, but ex- 
pecting no more than perhaps slight injury, retains con- 
trol of his faculties, thereby being enabled to take care 
of himself and also to help his companions. One more 
quiet than any of the others sees not even danger ; has 
no thought of disaster in the occurrence ; remains calm 
and alert in his thinking faculties, and is the only mas- 
ter of the situation. This person seldom is seriously 
injured, unless the accident results in extreme disaster. 

The difference between these cases is entirely men- 
tal. In the most of them the mentality would have 
been controllable through an adequate knowledge o£ 
the real faculties and forces of the mind. The physical 
results of such experiences are as varied as the men- 
talities involved. The results to health, later in life, 
will invariably correspond to the mental action 
indulged by each person at the time of the happening ; 
not necessarily to the actual physical features of the 
occurrence. 

In considering diagnosis to determine causes and in 
giving mental treatment to relieve or cure conditions 
of sickness engendered by occurrences of this order, 
each case must be considered in the light of that per- 
son's particular mental experience. Each mind forms 
a different mental picture, and each person's physical 
condition will be a reproduction of his own thought- 
picture. The action of this picture is retained in the 
subconscious realm of the mind, even after the mem- 
ory of conscious thought has ceased to give it forth. 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 39 

Any similar experience, acting as a coincidence, may 
call it into action and cause it to be reproduced in the 
nerve centers. When this action is so reproduced by 
the nervous system a corresponding form of sickness or 
definite disease may generate in the physical system. 
Many features of sickness and almost innumerable 
degrees of action are involved here, but one law gov- 
erns them all. Thousands are sick and deaths occur 
constantly from no other cause. 

For such conditions as these there is no direct rem- 
edy or cure known, save the Metaphysical method of 
treatment, which reverses the disturbing subconscious 
action and erases that part of the picture which causes 
the sickness. The subconscious action of the original 
fear is thus destroyed. This process is exact and 
efficient. It is scientific in its operation, philosophic as 
regards its theory and metaphysical in the character of 
its action. It is the distinctly scientific ground of Men- 
tal Healing. These death-dealing pictures cannot be 
gotten rid of by any other means known to the world 
to-day. When applied with correct understanding and 
under suitable circumstances for the study and treat- 
ment of the case, this system will permanently cure all 
curable cases, even those which baffle the advocate of 
material science. This applies to all those cases where 
pictures of distress have been formed in the mind by 
the adverse experiences of life, which cause scenes of 
fear, anxiety, worry, sorrow or trouble of any kind. 
The subconscious action of these mental pictures is 
baneful and dangerous. It causes more sickness and 
untimely deaths than all other causes combined. 

In all such cases the picture can be effectuall)r 



30 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

removed by metaphysical treatment; then the subcon- 
scious action will cease entirely and forever. The 
rightly educated metaphysical demonstrator under- 
stands the nature of this picture and its action as a 
cause of sickness, and possesses the power necessary 
to eliminate it from the life-operations of the sufferer. 
A definite knowledge of the operations of the mind in 
forming, in retaining and in discarding these pictures, 
is the foundation of his science. The action is not at 
all hypnotic or mesmeric. On the contrary, it deals 
entirely with the higher operations of the intelligence. 
The knowledge also can be imparted to those willing 
to exercise thought-action along the lines necessary to 
the accomplishment. 

This mode of specific cure by means of the removal 
of direct causes is of incalculable value to humanity, yet 
comparatively few know of its existence. But a few 
of the Mental-Healing practitioners themselves know 
of or ever use it. The true metaphysician, however, 
relies mainly upon it. 

Besides this specific treatment the metaphysician 
also exercises a form of mental treatment based upon 
the general principles of metaphysical philosophy, 
which apply to all members of the human family. 
With these two methods as a basis of action he can 
apply the force of his understanding to any case of 
sickness and so modify existing conditions as to bring 
relief in various ways, with a complete cure in all cases 
where the cause exists in the general disturbing action 
of every-day life. Most of the ordinary cases of sick- 
ness come under this category and are curable in this 
way, but extreme cases usually require the Specific 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 31 

Image Treatment. No other method cures the most 
critical cases. Only the well-trained metaphysician, 
however, can determine accurately which mode of 
treatment is required for a given case. 

The knowledge of both of these mental methods 
equips the practitioner with ample power to deal 
successfully with all forms of sickness that have any 
association with the action of the mind, either con- 
sciously or subconsciously. As no form of disease 
develops on a body entirely devoid of mind, and few, 
if any, with the idiot, the possible range of the cura- 
tive power of the mind may be more extensive than 
commonly supposed. Indeed, it is possible to make a 
reasonable application of thought-power to every dis- 
turbed condition in life, whether moral, mental, or 
physical. It is this that gives the metaphysical system 
its great value as a general healing practice. Its 
specific action in dealing directly with the causative 
Image is distinctive and of incalculable value. Because 
of the universality of its application to the affairs of 
daily life,, it cannot be overrated. No other curative 
knowledge is so important to-day. How shall we con- 
vince the suffering public of this fact ? 

But besides the work to be done for others by the 
skilled practitioner, there is important work possible 
at home and in the family, through the control of con- 
ditions for one's own self; also in the influencing and 
guiding of others rightly in daily action. Many affairs 
that would otherwise lead to undesirable results can be 
suitably managed through proper use of the mental 
forces in well-directed thought-action, and many states 
of discomfort or seeming ill-health may be over- 



32 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

come for one's self by exercising the mental powers 
according to metaphysical principles. This also is 
important for all to know, and is not so difficult as 
might at first seem probable. With the exercise of the 
intelligence (with which to understand) and the will 
(with which to do or perform) much can be accom- 
plished. In order to be effective each rule of action 
employed must be based upon a principle which, 
because it is universal, will work in the same way at all 
times and for all persons. 

In this connection we must remember that in what- 
ever form the mind thinks, the action of that thought 
will be reproduced in the nervous system, thus com- 
pelling the body with its organs and functions to move 
and operate with the mind; as the mind thinks, so the 
body acts. Much of this reproducing action is sub- 
conscious, but it will be all the more certain and exact 
for that reason. The nature and the character of the 
conscious mental action indulged will be so reproduced, 
as well as its more external forms. 

With this rule for a guide we can determine in 
advance the most of the resultant action of daily life; 
and by so determining it in right modes of action a 
vast amount of genuine good influence may be brought 
into our lives. This will also inure to the good of 
others with whom we come in contact; for the action 
of a thought forms a mental picture that will reflect 
in the minds of those with whom we associate or of 
whom we think, the same as a physical object reflects 
in a mirror. 

This is the natural law of thought-transference. 
If we think in angry mood the distorted action of 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 33 

anger will enter the minds of others who are at that 
time receptive to our thought. The image of anger 
reflects to and reproduces itself in their minds also. 
Then more angry thoughts are liable. In that event 
the crop increases, with all its attendant consequences. 
Unless the others stand guard at the portal of the 
mind, consciously refusing acquiescence with the dis- 
turbed thought, these results are practically certain. 
Physical discomfort, sickness and eventually disease, 
are the results of this wrong indulgence of the mental 
faculties. The same reasoning holds good with regard 
to all the emotions. 

Conversely, quiet, harmonious, good and right 
thoughts generate their own corresponding action and 
reproduce themselves in other minds. As before 
stated, this law never varies. It is universal. It is no 
respecter of persons, and all may share its beneficence. 
Each one, however, must exercise his own faculties in 
accordance with it or inevitably experience the results 
of the contrary action. As all disturbed nerve-action 
results in discomfort, and, if continued, produces sick- 
ness, we may readily see that the moral philosophy of 
this argument bears directly upon the question of 
health. Indeed, it rests at the very foundation of 
health, both physically and mentally. The earlier this 
fact is recognized the better will it be for mankind, 
now nearly death-ridden by the many conflicting the- 
ories about both disease and its right remedy. 

To remain permanently in health it is incumbent 
upon each one for himself so to exercise his own men- 
tal faculties as to conceive and think right ideas, in 
ways that are just, and, for that reason, will result in 



/ 



34 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

good ; and to keep his mind proof against the invasion 
of thoughts from other minds, which he would not 
indulge for himself. Habitual thinking in lines that 
are right makes one proof against the receiving of 
impressions of wrong action in other minds. In like 
manner the thinking of the quality, of good is proof 
against seeming evil; harmony against discord; peace 
against distress; happiness against sorrow; health 
against sickness, and so on through the entire category 
of human emotions. Each of us possesses the full 
power for this control and its beneficent guiding influ- 
ence. Direct application of thought to the purpose and 
continued training of the mind in that direction are the 
only requirements. 

The seemingly irritating influence of contact with 
minds that are thinking discord, brings a constant temp- 
tation to yield to the adverse influence, through the 
operation of the mental picture, and so to reproduce 
the erroneous thought of the other mind. The moral 
forces within are suflicient, however, and we need not 
yield. It is vastly better for us if we do not follow 
the misleading influence. 

We may and should create within our own con- 
sciousness AN IMPULSE TO RIGHT ACTION FOR GOOD 
PURPOSE, and maintain it always at the front ; this will 
act subconsciously for our protection at all times. To 
think in healthy tones is to evolve harmony in thought- 
action; this will generate harmony of nerve-action 
which in turn will produce natural functional action 
that must develop healthy organic action. With all of 
these states established in any individual case, a healthy 
man is the inevitable result. 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 35 

Hence, each one should exclude from his mental 
vocabulary any word that stands for a discordant 
thought, and evolve instead the activity of its opposite 
idea. This may be done instantly and forcefully, 
whenever a disturbing or unnatural thought is pre- 
sented, and it will prove exceedingly beneficial. If a 
condition of sickness has become established, compare 
its seeming character with the operations of the mind 
and see what thought-element it agrees with. Then 
establish the opposite element of right and good 
thought-action in the mentality, and hold to it with a 
strong will and a clear, intelligent comprehension until 
the physical mechanism responds and reproduces the 
right conditions. In this way many conditions of seem- 
ing disease will fade and disappear. It is a powerful 
self-help and of great value, especially in those cases 
where outside help is difficult to obtain. It should be 
cultivated by all as a means of self-reliance in times of 
sickness or trouble. 

The usual statement that disease is a thing in itself 
should be mentally denied with persistence, and the 
opposite statement that health is natural and real be 
held continuously in mind, clearly imaged as man's 
natural estate and the rightful possession of every 
individual. Disease is not a thing or an entity, but a 
condition of false mentality. The continuous forceful 
application of thought intelligently based upon this 
realization will kill out even the microbes of disease 
the same as the continued action of the sun ^dries up 
the swamp and burns away its seeming miasma when 
the supply of dank moisture ceases. 

In this way it is possible for the mind that is kept 



36 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

virile with the activity of truth to destroy even the 
physical traces of a supposed disease. Such an opera- 
tion is entirely natural and wholly within the prov- 
ince of the resourceful mental faculties when rightly 
directed through the proper exercise of intelligence. 
The mind absolutely controls all the secretive and 
excretive action of the body and therefore can destroy 
and remove any foreign element. It can kill microbes 
by the use of oxygen through the exercise of right 
thought. 

The mind can be used to generate health even more 
readily than for sickness; because the health-channels 
are more natural to it and the more powerful of its 
forces are always employed for that purpose. The 
higher the purpose the more forceful the thought. 
Health is natural to man. It is always present in the 
real activities of the mental realm and always acces- 
sible to the mind. But disease is abnormal, being only 
the result of a temporary departure from the natural 
realms of thought. It is not an entity. It has no prin- 
ciple and no intelligence of its own. Neither does it 
possess power. Being is whole and does not contain it. 
Man is whole and it is no part of him. Let the individ- 
ual hold his thought whole, absolutely so, always, and 
disease can find no lodgment even in the subconscious 
realms. Then this wraith of inconsistent thought, 
based upon fear, will become nothing to him and will 
disappear. 

This word "nothing" contains the root-meaning of 
the word disease. It was derived from the Latin dis, 
meaning un; without; the lack of; absence; and the 
word ease. Literally it is dis-ease, un-ease, a lack of 



THOUGHT-ACTION IN HEALTH. 37 

ease. It stands for absence, not presence. It cannot 
exist without consciousness. The unconscious cannot 
be said to be even uneasy. So this dis-ea,se must be a 
matter of mind only and a thought-condition. It 
depends entirely upon either the conscious or the sub- 
conscious action of mind for existence, even in appear- 
ance. Its so-called physical features — even its bac- 
terial and microbic features — are only the eventual 
results of continued wrong mentality with the race and 
reproduced by the individual. Set this right and the 
continuance of the right action will re-establish the 
light of truth. Then health will reign again as it did 
in the beginning, when all things were Created both 
whole and good, and in the statement no mention was 
made of disease in any form. 

While no one person controls the entire thought of 
the community, yet any one can establish the truth 
within his own comprehension, and by perpetuating its 
action may become a powerful influence in molding the 
future thought of the community. 

Health is the normal condition of humanity, but it 
must be maintained in the thought-realm or it cannot 
prevail in the bodily representation of man. Health 
of mind assures health of body. This is absolutely 
true of the race, and it may be made true to a great 
extent by each individual for himself. Let us think 
health and have full confidence in it as a reality, with 
as much spontaneity as in the past we have appeared 
to think disease through our fear of it, and see if we 
do not find the thought a healing influence and a true 
soothing lotion for the many seeming ills of daily life. 

We can begin this healthy exercise of our own 



38 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

minds in daily life, at once, by refusing to accept the 
words of sickness and trouble, which come to our ears 
from all sides. We need not, however, make a display 
of this act of refusal, and so appear ridiculous to those 
who have not yet reached the same ground of knowl- 
edge. The result can be obtained without this. 

First establish within, the purpose to deal only 
with that which is actually true. Next, fix in mind 
the fact that sickness and trouble are not realities 
and need not be entertained as such. Then, when- 
ever any such negative condition is presented to the 
ear in the spoken word, or to the eye on the printed 
page, act promptly in thought, giving a silent denial 
to it, refusing to accept the opinion that it is real. In 
this way the mind rejects the erroneous belief before 
it can enter to take possession of the faculties. This, 
in itself, is a large part of the lesson of health; and 
when once it is well learned the mind possesses great 
powers of resistance. Try this for a while and ob- 
serve results. 



Ill 

The Specific Image Treatment 



Chapter III. 

iTHE SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT IN 
MENTAL HEALING. 

In these days of almost incredible advancement in 
the progressive Sciences, the subject of Mental Heal- 
ing has taken a firm hold among thoughtful individ- 
uals. Numerous manifestations of its success in 
removing the evils of sickness and of trouble in human 
life have been made, and thousands have attained con- 
fidence in the power of the mind to help in trouble. 

The existence of various theories has led to ques- 
tion as to what form of mental healing, if any, is truly 
scientific and therefore to be depended upon, and 
which of them is most worthy of acceptance. In 
approaching this question it is safe to adopt the maxim 
that where results are good the source of the action 
must also be good; and as all methods of mental 
healing doubtless produce more or less beneficial 
results we may justly accord to each a place in the 
healing field. 

But the theories thus far advanced do not agree as 
regards the influence that actually effects the results. 
Equally divergent are the opinions rendered about 
the importance of particular methods. It is not 
strange that this should occur with a procedure not 

41 



42 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

only novel, but differing from the familiar and 
accepted theories, which are based upon external 
action. Neither does it necessarily condemn any of 
the theories involved. 

It is inevitable that a new theory of this order must, 
during its experimental stage, run the gantlet of crit- 
icism. It has been observed and commented upon that 
the most popular phases of the movement are those 
that have presented strong emotional features. With 
the average person the emotions are easier to reach 
than the reasoning faculties. They respond to appar- 
ent evidence and are not critical in examination. It is 
not remarkable^ therefore, that emotional phases of 
thought on this subject should have found congenial 
soil earlier than those based upon profounder reason- 
ing, such as could stand the test of study and demon- 
strating experiment. Neither is it wholly unfortunate 
that this should be the case. The emotional impulse 
reaches some not yet ready for anything more pro- 
found and it prepares the way with others for the 
deeper thought, by clearing away some of the obstruc- 
tions of the former dogmatic teaching, after which 
something more substantial is demanded. 

During all the tim.e that this important movement 
has been developing, certain thoughtful persons have 
been studying the causative action, noting the facul- 
ties exercised in the procedure, observing results and 
drawing conclusions that should stand the test of both 
time and experience with the most critical. Doubtless 
it is supposed by some that no such facts will ever 
become established for this system of thought. This 
view, however, is principally based upon acquaintance 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 43 

with only the emotional phases, the exact mathematical 
character of the true healing power of thought not 
having been properly brought before thern. When- 
ever the actual facts of the real power of the thought 
for healing purpose has been presented to such think- 
ers, they have exhibited genuine surprise at its depth, 
power and importance. 

All actual experience goes to show that the imag- 
ing faculty of the mind is the real instrument, through 
the exercise of which healing is always performed. 
The various theories advanced all revolve around the 
fact of the picturing of thoughts or the imaging of 
ideas as a precedent to action ; and in treatment, unless 
a change of the mental image occur, either con- 
sciously or subconsciously, no change whatever is 
effected with the patient. This is true of all systems. 
The difference in means for effecting these changes 
constitutes the main difference between theories and 
systems. This fact, however, is seldom recognized. 

With each class of thinkers its own accepted theory 
constitutes the basis of its thought, and each thought 
forms its own corresponding image during the proc- 
ess. The "theory" serves as a starting point for cer- 
tain more or less definite thought-action which inevi- 
tably results in the formation of mental images, regard- 
less of whether the thinker recognizes the fact. There 
is no thought without its accompanying image. This 
is the permanent law of mental action and none can 
set it aside or escape its results. The intelligence con- 
ceives an idea; the mind images the action in a 
thought, and the nervous system externalizes the 
action as a physical condition. This is the definite 



44 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

mode of operation of all causative action, either of 
sickness or its cure. No healer can transcend this uni- 
versal law of operative action. No intention or desire 
can set it aside or cause action to proceed differently. 
A strong faith in some other particular method will 
only call this law into operation in the mind and pro- 
duce its results through the natural subconscious 
reproduction of the image. 

Early in the history of mental healing these things 
were vaguely recognized, but little effort was at first 
made to develop them into a working hypothesis. 
About twenty years ago a few saw the far-reaching 
importance of this fact of Mental Imaging and its 
physical results, and began experimenting. The prin- 
cipal points of fact were rapidly developed and proved 
invariably the actual existence of the law. The road 
was not a smooth one, however, and the most of those 
to whom the little then known had been conveyed soon 
apparently abandoned the new hypothesis for the easier 
though less efficient system of applying "general 
thought" for purposes of treatment, ignoring, mean- 
while, the fact of a particular image being present and 
active in each individual case. Some mental work 
was saved, perhaps, in this way, but always with a loss 
of efficiency, especially in critical cases. 

The writer early perceived the vital importance of 
a thorough development of this particular principle 
of mental action, and, accordingly, in 1884 he set about 
the matter in earnest. In this study cases of all kinds 
and degrees of sickness and trouble were submitted to 
the "Image" test, and, upon close examination, every 
case showed the existence of definite mental images 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 45 

of fear or distress. In each Important case there was 
discovered an almost surprising correspondence to the 
physical ailment. The same character and mode of 
action was present with each. Abundant reason was 
thus found for a theory of cause and effect between 
the closely corresponding "image" and "disease." 
Treatment, even in the undeveloped ways then in 
vogue, effected astonishingly successful results. The 
hypothesis of a direct mental cause existing in 

THE action of A SPECIFIC MENTAL IMAGE WaS duly 

established through this observation. 

Then began in earnest the study through experi- 
ment for the purpose of establishing a reliable means 
of thoroughly removing these "specific causes" with- 
out thereby producing any other undesirable condi- 
tions. Tests were made with numberless cases and 
results were carefully observed. The early teaching 
was found to be correct in principle, but incomplete in 
detail, making further experiment necessary. The 
most of those who began with the theory soon left it,, 
apparently because of this lack of definite information. 
This study and experimentation have occupied twenty 
years of the most assiduous labor in application of the 
mental forces to the practice of Mental Healing of dis- 
ease and to the adjustment of the difficulties arising in 
daily life. The final outcome is a well-developed 
scientific theory based upon definite understanding of 
the nature and constitution of the mind and its forces, 
how they operate and how to use them for healing and 
uplifting purposes. 

Basing action upon this understanding, the rightly 
informed practitioner, when called to a case of sick- 



46 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

ness, looks first for the character of the action Involved 
in the bodily disorder. With this clearly defined he 
knows just v^rhat kind of mental action to look for as 
a specific cause of this particular case of physical dis- 
order. The distinct correspondence existing between 
the mental action considered as a cause and the phys- 
ical condition as an eifect, renders his judgment sure 
in this diagnosis, because the law of correspondence is 
universal and exact in its natural operations. When 
accurately defined the correspondence is thoroughly 
reliable. This simplifies the perplexing problem of 
"the causation of sickness/' which has always baffled 
our materialistic savants^ and which will continue to 
baffle them^ because the cause of sickness is always 
7nental; the effect only takes on physical aspects, 
f There is no case of sickness without any mental cause. 
This theory of cause and effect has been tested so 
thoroughly and proved by such successful results as to 
be beyond dispute. Under its influence large numbers 
of intelligent and reliable people testify that they have 
been healed. The greater proportion of these were 
cases given over as incurable, sometimes by the savants 
of medical science both in this country and in Europe, 
Something more than speculation must rest under- 
neath such work as this, especially when (as is unde- 
niably the case) the action can be reproduced at will; 
also while similar results are obtained with all sorts 
of cases and among all classes of people. Such results 
as these sometimes occur without any special exercise 
of faith on the part of the patient. The best of results 
have frequently been obtained where no expectation of 
help existed in the mind of the sufferer, and even when 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 47 

incredulity was openly declared. In some cases the 
persons stated that they would not receive it under 
any circumstances. It also proved effectual in the case 
of persons in delirium, stupor, trance and even appar- 
ently in coma^ and with children, who had no thought 
in the matter. The power, also, has many times been 
effectively applied where the person needing help was 
absent and had no knowledge that he was to be treated, 
some friend having made application for him. Under 
all of these circumstances equally good results have 
been obtained. Indeed, it is only a matter of studying 
and contemplating the conditions existing in a given 
case and applying mental power with a due degree of 
correct understanding. Some conditions will require 
more thorough or extended application of thought 
than others, but there always exists a means suited to 
each case, which will prove efficient when properly 
applied. No one still living is entirely beyond reach 
and possible help. 

The system as now developed and understood 
possesses the power of cure for any case curable by 
any known means, excepting surgical cases and those 
actually requiring mechanical aid. And even these are 
fewer in number than commonly supposed. It is the 
only rational and truly scientific means of cure and it 
will often succeed with cases w^hich have been given 
over by all others. It is an efficient aid to surgery, 
especially in critical cases, because of its control of the 
nervous system and the shock. These may seem to be 
bold statements and they are so, but they are true. 
In these days of Mental-Healing practice the main 
statement can be tested by any one. Applied on the prin- 



48 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

ciples here laid down, Mental Healing can never harm 
any one. Thoroughly employed it never fails of giv- 
ing a measure of relief. The Specific Image Treat- 
ment is both scientific and exact ; it also is universal in 
power and in adaptability. 

In illustration of the working of this method sup- 
pose the metaphysical practitioner is called to a case 
showing a state of fever. He finds a physical condition 
of much excitement of action throughout the system 
and a state of abnormal heat. To him these conditions 
signify that at some previous time the mind of that 
person has in some way received impressions that bear 
the same characteristics as these symptoms, and that 
for some direct reason these impressions are at this 
time being reproduced through the nervous system of 
the sufferer. From the nerve centers the disturbance 
has extended to and become re-enacted in the vital 
organs and throughout the circulation of the physical 
body, producing a condition of unrest. 

His aim now is to ascertain the particular mental 
excitement and the reason why it is just now being 
renewed both physically and mentally. The degree of 
fever and rate of action involved physically are guides 
to him in ascertaining what kind of a cause to look for. 
Other symptoms will aid in this. He will then readily 
determine what particular mental experience has 
caused this physical condition. This becomes his 
"specific cause" of the condition which he is required 
to cure. The physician seldom suspects this cause, 
and when he does, he is powerless to deal with it. This 
cause determined, the metaphysician will proceed to 
eliminate it by eradicating the picture in mind or the 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 49 

mental image which produced the sickness. By meta- 
physical means he will stop the repetition of the action 
that causes the disturbance. As the picture fades from 
the subconscious remembrance its action ceases; then 
the reflection of its action in the nerve centers disap- 
pears and nature restores the physical action to its 
normal state. The cause having been removed, noth- 
ing remains possessing power or even with inclination 
to continue the disturbed action. Thus^ a cure is per- 
formed, without material remedies. 

This constitutes a mental cure by means of the 
Specific Image Treatment. It is effected through a 
definite process of thinking which is exact in its details 
and which can be intelligently explained and taught to 
studious minds or thoughtful persons. It is the one 

DISTINCTLY SCIENTIFIC GROUND OF MENTAL HEALING. 

It is strictly metaphysical in its reconstructive opera- 
tions. It invariably works benefit for the recipient, 
by virtue of the high spiritual character of the life- 
principles employed through the understanding for the 
purpose of changing the abnormal action involved in 
the sickness. 

The successful metaphysical practitioner is neces- 
sarily a pure-minded person; the more so the greater 
his power over all the conditions and circumstances of 
human life. The clearer his understanding of funda- 
mental principles and the keener his judgment the 
more will he accomplish, and the purer his thought 
the more uplifting and effectual will it be in life. No 
one realizes this so well as the practitioner himself. 
Accordingly he avoids the world's extreme paths of 
sensuous enjoyment and devotes his time and thought 



50 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

to the evolving of more energy- of mind for the benefit 
of others. His mind is ever active in a search for 
greater knowledge and deeper truths. Reality is the 
object of his search, Being is the subject of his con- 
scious thought and Health the purpose for which he 
gives his time and effort. His methods are, of course, 
new to those who have not tried them, but they are 
neither secret nor mysterious; they are capable of 
being clearly explained on a strictly scientific basis, 
and, when considered in the light of real principles in 
human life, they are not difficult to understand. 

Every form of illness has its own particular char- 
acter of abnormal action in the system. Frequently 
this is shown by the action of both the mind and the 
body. From what is recognized of this "character" 
the ordinary physician determines the kind of sickness 
and names it according to the definitions laid down in 
his books. So much for his diagnosis. It is mainly 
based upon the physical action observed. To the meta- 
physician this "name" means not so much as does the 
"character." From this he gets his cue for a deHnite 
cause. The "character" of the action in the disease 
will also be found in its mental "cause." They are 
always alike. The mental condition may exist for a 
time without having yet expressed itself physically, but 
the physical condition cannot possibly be present and 
in action without any corresponding mental picture 
antecedent as a cause. Without any disturbance of 
the mind it would never have appeared. 

This statement is equally as true of organic disease 
as of the functional or nervous varieties, and it applies 
to them all with equal force, because these functional 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 51 

and nervous states are the beginnings of organic con- 
ditions and if continued finally develop into them. The 
so-called bacterial and microbic diseases also come in 
this category and have their mental causes. None of 
these conditions of disease develop with a dead body 
or progress at all while the mind is absent; yet, the 
causative action of any of them may be active and 
operative in the mind without there being any corre- 
sponding physical condition yet in existence. In time 
the mental state will reproduce itself on its own accom- 
panying body, but the mental state is first in order, 
subconsciously at least. If no entrance can be made 
to the mind with a given action or its character no 
effect of that order can be produced on its body. The 
proper entrance to the body with any mode of action is 
through the mind. Any other attempt fails in the end. 

This holds true in all bodily conditions save the 
violent physical action of accident or external assault. 
The bacteriologist will strenuously deny this state- 
ment and offer as undoubted evidence the fact that 
animals impregnated with certain bacteria soon 
develop the form of disease that the professors are 
experimenting with. Our answer to this is, that noth- 
ing is proved by this fact. Animals have been impreg- 
nated during experiment and the symptoms of certain 
diseases produced, but later other experimenters have 
shown that those bacteria were not the ones that caused 
that kind of disease. What affected those animals ? 

Note here that the symptoms that develop with the 
animal are those of "the disease with which the pro- 
fessor is experimenting." His mind is "full of it." 
His mind's eye holds the most intense picture of that 



52 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

particular microbe as "the active and real cause of that 
disease/' Rabbits, guinea-pigs, dogs and horses all 
are subconsciously clairvoyant and subject to the influ- 
ence of clearly defined thought, by the same laws o£ 
the transference of an image that inhere with human 
beings. Many experiments have proved this fact. 

How much allowance, then, should we make for the 
perhaps overpowering hypnotic action of the experi- 
menter's mind on the animal? None, do you say? 
Well, let an equally powerful mind hypnotize the ani- 
mal upon which the experiment is being tried and give 
the idea of nothingness to the supposed bacterial 
thought and we venture the opinion that no disease 
will develop. It is easy to test. Try it. There is 
actual universal law in the matter. ISTeither an animal 
nor a man under hypnotic influence of a contrary 
nature can be impregnated with a disease. Why not, 
if the disease and its cause are both physical ? It is not 
the body that is hypnotized, it is the mind. There is 
much food for thought here, and for our own future 
as well as that of our theories, we should as soon as 
possible ascertain and establish the actual truth of the 
matter. Fairness and public safety both demand it. 

The fact that the microbe is present together with 
a given disease has led to a supposition that it was the 
cause of that condition. This, followed by experiment, 
has led to the acceptance of the theory. If the experi- 
ments had been conducted under a different expecta- 
tion of thought it is safe to say that the results would 
have been correspondingly different. In subconscious 
action the human mind can both make and destroy 
microbes and bacteria as easily as it can build and ani- 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 53 

mate cells in the human body or control the thinking 
of other m^en, acts, which to-day no well-informed per- 
son will attempt to deny. Bacterial parasites are not 
the work of God, but the legitimate outcome of man's 
own destructive thought. He makes and he can 
destroy them all. It only requires a knowledge of the 
kind of thought which produces each species. 

The presence of the microbe in the part of the body 
affected by the disease is no certain proof that it is 
the cause of the condition. If it were found there 
^I'st and soon thereafter the disease should always 
appear, and not under any other circumstances, then 
there might be some reason for accepting the state- 
ment as an hypothesis. But even then it would require 
careful investigation, for the entire subject relates to a 
ground of action most subtile and difficult for the sen- 
suous mind to fathom and sense instruments are too 
coarse to reach the activities involved. The bacillus 
now accepted as the cause of diphtheria is microscop- 
ically always found in every healthy mouth. The bac- 
teria and perhaps the microbes, as well, are products 
of the condition, not its causes, and to an extent they 
act as scavengers, removing the effete matter that 
accumulates through the unusual breaking-down of 
tissue and destroying of cells by the adverse action of 
mentality which is exhibited in the disease itself. If 
by continuance of the disease they become multiplied 
to such an extent as to obstruct natural action they 
may require direct attention, but the condition itself, 
which makes them possible, should receive chief atten- 
tion. The removal of the cause of the disturbing 
action from the subconscious realm of the mind paves 



54 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREAT^rENT 

the way for all succeeding stages of recover}- and the 
microbes disappear as strength and healthy action 
return. All nature conspires to produce this result. 

bullions of human beings have recovered from 
ever}- known form of disease before bacteria were ever 
heard of and without any treatment that was calcu- 
lated to destroy them. They recovered as readily 
then as now^ in most instances, and in those cases 
where improvement in method is apparent it can read- 
ily be attributed to clinical care and other conducive 
m.ethods. The medicines given do little else than harm, 
as many physicians are aware and openly state. They 
render convalescence slower and more complicated, 
and recover}- less certain. ^Millions recover to-day 
under various methods of treatment that have no rela- 
tion to bacteria. The bacteriologist has '''bacteria" on 
the brain, and his mind is filled with the most vi\'id 
pictures of this order. Unhappy the wight who falls 
under his morbific spell. The idea, held continuously 
centered in mind, can, and often does, produce the con- 
dition with its unconscious victim. The action is sub- 
conscious, but for that reason all the more subtile and 
powerful. The specialist usually dies of the disease 
w-ith which he deals. 

Trust yourself to the influence, both conscious and 
subconscious, of those w-ho think and therefore picture 
in the mental realm pure and life-giving thoughts, 
rather than these destroying influences, and the results 
will be more likely to satisfy you. We are all influ- 
enced somewhat by the minds and the thought- 
atmosphere of those with whom we associate, and 
unconsciously we respond, largely so because we do 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 55 

not know or are not at that time aware of the fact of 
the influence. Having no knowledge of the extraneous 
source of the action, we suppose such influence to be 
the result of our own thoughts or attribute it to some 
external influence. 

Because of the definiteness of the laws of corre- 
spondence involved between the mental image and the 
accompanying physical condition, the true metaphysi- 
cian has a sure basis for diagnosis. He is invariably 
right, provided his teaching has been correct and his 
judgment be good. The natural law of correspondence 
assures this. But in the commonly accepted schools of 
medical practice all is conjecture and theory, conse- 
quently no basis for accurate diagnosis and certain 
cure can be established. After the thousands of years 
of experiment which have passed, you may to-day find 
the most conflicting statements on the pages of any 
standard work on pathology, and especially between 
authors of equal merit and standing. The rank dis- 
agreement of physicians on almost any of the simple 
problems of diagnosis and treatment is a fact notorious 
the whole world over. It is not the fault of the men, 
but of the system. The hypothesis of "a physical cause 
to disease" is an error to start with, and the theory has 
no sure foundation on which to stand. It is the innate 
power of the personality of the physician that cures 
the patient rather than either his therapeutics or his 
pathology. In other words^ his mind rather than his 
medicine does the work. The doctor's personality is 
his most powerful remedy. The confidence of his 
patient is also a potent factor. 

Disease itself is mental — usually a subconscious 



56 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

mental condition. This subconscious condition, if not 
corrected, eventually expresses itself with more or less 
distinctness on and in the body by means of the natural 
interaction of the nerves and the vital organs. But this 
is the external expression of the disease, not the dis- 
ease per se. To deal promptly and effectively with the 
disease we should approach the actual seat of disorder, 
which is always in the mind. Change the action there 
and the bodily condition will invariably follow suit, 
changing also, and thus producing its own cure. The 
mind and the body thus co-operate in every system of 
personal action. 

This curative action will occur even if the physical 
condition be not understood, provided the mental pic- 
ture be accurately interpreted and correctly treated. 
Many individuals while under treatment for the cure 
of one form of illness have been treated for the removal 
of mental pictures of distress without any knowledge 
on the part of the practitioner that another and differ- 
ent condition of bodily disease was present, and as the 
picture faded away this other trouble also disappeared. 
The unexpected result brought out the first knowledge 
that the practitioner had of the fact of its presence. 
The patient not expecting that this condition could be 
remedied, had said nothing about it until the cure 
unexpectedly occurred. These cases all showed direct 
correspondence between the mental picture treated and 
that particular disease. With the actual cause removed 
the disease, of course, must disappear. Such condi- 
tions as constipation, flatulence and indigestion in vari- 
ous stages, inflammation of the bladder and pelvic 
regions, neuralgic pains, insomnia and internal dis- 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 57 

orders have disappeared in this manner while the 
patients were being treated for other conditions without 
having mentioned these troubles. 

These experiences demonstrate the relation exist- 
ing between cause and effect here and go far to prove 
the theory correct. They are a matter of constant 
experience with the true metaphysical practitioner. 
This also illustrates how unimportant to him are the 
names which are given to diseased conditions. He can 
produce radical cures without any use of them. 
Neither nature nor God named peculiar types of mor- 
bidness. The names all originated in physicians' 
offices. They are, however, sometimes useful as 
descriptions of conditions in determining what *'cause" 
to look for. 

These causative mental pictures also bear direct 
relation to certain states of the mind as well as to 
bodily conditions; they become, also, causes of mental 
disease. Many minds are moody, morose, melancholy, 
excitable, irritable, immoral^ unbalanced, or, in fact, 
insane, solely because of the overpowering influence 
of some picture of a past experience, which remains 
subconsciously in operation after conscious thought on 
the occurrence has ceased and the person has appar- 
ently forgotten the incident. While the picture 
remains active in the subconscious realm of the mind 
the character of its action will repeat itself in the 
nervous system. This method of treatment has a direct 
curative power for these cases as well as for the phys- 
ical ones. The work is exactly the same : Remove the 
mental picture and with it goes all the impulse toward 
wrong or morbid action. Then a cure is established. 



68 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

Marked cures of all the conditions above men- 
tioned have been made in this way. They all are con- 
ditions for which there is no other reliable method of 
cure known. People thus afflicted are usually referred 
to themselves for healing power. The medical profes- 
sion has no efficient remedy to offer, though frequently 
claiming the only right to try. Without metaphysical 
means all these cases are hopeless. Shall we ''pass by 
on the other side" while we still hug our medical delu- 
sion that has failed, or may we grant a newcomer 
audience and observe results? 

In all of these ways the mind possesses the power 
to heal all the ills of the flesh as well as those of its 
own realm, and in each phase the ''Specific Image 
Treatment" possesses advantages over all other meth- 
ods or systems, because it is based upon the actual laws 
involved in the natural operations of the mind, both in 
causing and curing sickness. It is a natural and mor- 
ally lawful curative influence to which every f reeborn 
man, woman and child has an inalienable right. It 
coexists with the right to live. 

By means of this knowledge we can strike directly 
at the root of the matter, thus gaining time and enhanc- 
ing power. It is bound to outlive the various sys- 
tems because of this ground of law which is the fun- 
damental action of every efficient method and of all 
possible systems. Neither theory nor personal desire 
can change the mode of the natural action of the mind. 
It is a fundamental law in the universe — one of the 
fixed laws of Being. By means of it man lives and 
performs all his real works. In its pathway are health, 
strength, power, wealth, influence and command. 



IN MENTAL HEALING. 59 

Without a suitable knowledge of its operative action 
the individual can only stumble along the pathway of 
personal life, groping after the things that really are 
his by nature's law and which under a correct under- 
standing would clearly appear in a strong light. Your 
mind images every idea and everything that you deal 
with and pictures each thought-action, even before 
you are aware of it. Because you psychically see the 
picture, you comprehend the thought and apprehend 
the idea. In no other way than this can any individual 
think, move or act. All natural law is universal and 
absolute. 

There is no greater blessing before the afflicted 
to-day than this natural power of healing. If the truth 
of this statement could be presented to the public in 
terms that they would accept as authentic and reliable 
multitudes would besiege every practitioner of the 
"Specific Image Treatment" and teachers would be 
overwhelmed. 

The writer, who has developed this system in his 
own practice and taught it to classes of students, 
firmly believes that no question of greater importance 
stands before the people to-day, and he is working 
with every possible effort to place it before the public 
in an intelligible form while time and opportunity may 
remain to him. 

The definite knowledge of this system is wholly 
unknown to Christian Science and practically so to 
the great body of Mental Healers; probably few of 
these ever heard it explained sufficiently to compre- 
hend its import. But the system is now well developed 



60 SPECIFIC IMAGE TREATMENT 

and can be taught to all interested persons who may 
wish to know the truth. 

It is a fact of natural law that permeates every; 
phase of our daily life and we all suffer continuously 
through our helpless ignorance of its operative powers. 
It contains both the science and the religion of 
human life. 



IV 

Thought-Transference 



Chapter IV. 
THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE 

AND ITS 

RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 

All systems of healing by means of the use of the 
mind depend upon a transference of thought as the 
necessary means of communication between the minds 
concerned in the transaction. If no such action were 
possible as a lawful operation of the mind, then men- 
tal healing could have no foundation as a curative 
process. The reader will probably recognize that if 
one thought can be transferred to another mind, then 
all thoughts are capable of such transfer under the 
natural operation of the same law. Therefore, if the 
fact of transfer can be satisfactorily demonstrated for 
any kind of thought, we may readily see that a thought 
possessing healing power can be transmitted from one 
mind to another. When such a thought is received 
and accepted by the other mind it must become a true 
healing potion. 

This we claim is a legitimate act of mental healing. 
Thought-transference is its instrument for action. If 
we refuse to recognize either thought-transference or 
mental healing we must refuse the other also, for 
they stand or fall together. That which can be 
proved does not readily yield to skepticism. 

The way of the world in general has been to decry 

63 



64 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

thought-transference as a delusion of cranks^ but so 
much has already been proved that many thoughtful 
people have accepted the general statement and are 
now investigating it in detail. Every careful test that 
is made proves the existence of a definite law of men^ 
tal action and shows that, as with electricity, it has 
always been in existence. It is continually in opera- 
tion, at least subconsciously, among all people. 

Recent observations reported in the newspapers 
have shown the existence of thought-transference to 
be common among animals, both wild and tame, and 
some scientific experimenters assert that it is prevalent 
among fishes, at any rate, of the larger type, and among 
insects. It may yet be proved to be universal. Why 
not, if true at all ? 

In the light of facts of this sort, how shall we view 
our own boasted skepticism of the past? Shall we 
still stand by the rusty guns of our forefathers who 
were helpless themselves as regards the conscious 
transmitting of a thought without either a tongue or a 
pen, or shall we adopt the new and progressive arma- 
ment of modern experiment and march abreast of the 
mental discoveries of the age? 

Freedom of choice is universal among men and we 
may think whatever we may choose to believe, but in 
the event of non-recognition of existing law, progress 
will not wait for us. Even though the whole world 
ignore it, the law moves continuously along its even 
course, always content to be recognized by each indi- 
vidual when he is ready. Doubtless this is as it should 
be, for knowledge that is thrust upon one never sinks 
deeply into the understanding, and that which comes 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 65 

without search or effort we prize but little and soon 
discard. This may account for the fact that people in 
general accept so little on faith. Unless the individual 
possess the desire to see and to understand, the eye 
of the mind soon becomes atrophied. 

By repeated demonstration thought-transference 
has been proved to be a fact resting upon a definite law 
of interaction and communication between the minds 
of men and animals. The evidences are many and 
clear that it extends also to all living creatures. 
Indeed, it would seem that as a law it must so oper- 
ate whether we can yet recognize the fact or not. 
When the nature of the law involved in the operation 
is observed it is difficult to see how its action can be 
withheld from anything that lives. The difference in 
degree appears to be the main distinction. The direct 
influence of the mind of man upon some animals is 
very apparent. Suitable investigation may yet show it 
to be universal. 

The laws of action involved in thought-transfer- 
ence are neither mysterious nor abstruse. They are 
so plain and definite in operation that but little direct 
attention is required to enable any thoughtful person 
to test and examine its principle. When the investi- 
gator does this he comes into possession of a new 
accomplishment, and thereafter wonders never cease 
with him. 

It is as natural for thought to transfer or be trans- 
mitted to other minds and be received by them as it is 
for sound vibrations to extend and be heard; and to 
the mind that understands its principle it is as easy 
an accomplishment to receive a thought as to see 



66 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

objects in the light. It is not quite so familiar an 
experience; that is the only difference. These all are 
lawful operations, each on its own plane of action. 
The mechanical action of thought-transference is pre- 
cisely the same as that of the seeing of objects by the 
use of the physical eye, except that it is psychic 
instead of sensuous, and it is vastly more powerful in 
operation for that reason. Each thought possesses a 
form of its own outlined in mental action ; and, if the 
thought be true, it is outlined in spiritual activity. In 
any event its outline is not material. The form, how- 
ever, is not less distinct for that reason. 

While the mind evolves an idea in its understand- 
ing, its thought about the idea takes form and becomes 
a "thing" in the thought-realm ; this thing is a men- 
tal object. These things possess substance of a 
psychic order, and, if the thought be fundamentally 
true and real, the substance is spiritual both in char- 
acter and in element. These psychic objects are even 
more real than the sensuous objects appear to be. 
On the plane of psychic action all minds are practically 
mirrors to each other, and the form of the mental 
object or thought-thing reflects in the understanding 
of the mind of whomsoever may turn toward it 
receptively, or, as it is often expressed, in "reflective" 
attitude. 

The degree of clearness of this image is largely 
determined by the intensity of the thought expressed 
in the act of its transference, whether intentional or 
not. The state of clearness of the activity displayed 
by the operative functions of the mind that receives 
the message, will also affect the result. This clear- 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 67 

ness will chiefly be determined by the state or degree 
of quietude indulged during the thinking. It is impor- 
tant, however, that the original thinker should form 
his thought clearly and define the mental object thor- 
oughly in correct thinking. This is essential to effect- 
ive thought-transference. Whatever he thinks and 
however he thinks it, the transferred image, as pre- 
sented to the mind of the recipient, will show an 
accurate reproduction of his own thought-action as he 
executes it. The failures in experimental demonstra- 
tion rest principally on this fact. 

Quality, character, power and intensity transfer 
and are included in the image of communicated 
thought as readily as form or shape. These and kin- 
dred features of mental action are legitimate objects 
of thought-transference. 

Understanding these facts, we may recognize that 
a thought designed for a healing purpose may possess 
genuine healing power in the character of its image, 
because the character of the thought is readily trans- 
mitted to the recipient. A full realization of the activ- 
ities of health, results in a clearly formed thought- 
picture of health and wholeness. It includes in its 
nature and substance the qualities and essence of 
strength, vigor, vitality and force, and it will transfer 
as such to any mind that is open to its healing influ- 
ence. Such action may be generated at will by any 
individual familiar with that kind of thinking, and it 
can be intentionally transferred to whomsoever may 
need it. 

These are the simplest facts of thought-transfer- 
ence and its relation to health. They are capable of 



68 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

innumerable modes of application in life and they 
always possess power as a healing agency. Think 
the ideas of health and your thought will expand 
in healthy action. In this there is health for all 
concerned. 

In testing the theory of thought-transference in 
order to obtain direct proofs of its existence and its 
possibilities, the first point to be considered is the fact 
of mental imagery, for that is the operative action 
through which results must be obtained. Decide what 
thought you wish to communicate and to whom it shall 
be transmitted. Mentally see your conferee face to 
face with you and silently speak his name in thought. 
Now think the thought that you wish to pass to him, 
as though you were looking at the thing or object to 
which it relates, mentally seeing, meanwhile, the full 
picture of it in your own mind. Relate your thought 
to the fundamental nature of the idea involved, not 
to selfish or personal wishes, and see its actual reality. 

Think the details of the object or of the idea 
definitely, clearly, concisely and completely, for as you 
see it so he will receive it. Seeing it clearly yourself 
in your mind's eye (as perhaps you would express it) 
and at the same time thinking of your conferee or 
mentally speaking his name will present the "idea" to 
him and call his attention to it simultaneously. Then 
the thought will transfer to his mind with all the vivid- 
ness or intensity which you have given it. The action 
being real, he will soon begin to think the same idea 
and will see its details more or less distinctly accord- 
ing to the clearness of your own mental picturing o£ 
them and his own receptivity to thought-reflection. 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 69 

Actual realisation on your own part of the qualities of 
your idea will be your most powerful influence. 

If either party is at first slow in the action, experi- 
ence will bring improvement. Experience, however, is 
not essential to either the ability or its successful 
operation. Thoughts actually transfer in this way 
between all persons and under all kinds of experience. 
People do not commonly think of such affairs as real 
experiences, so they usually are not recognized or are 
passed as mere coincidences and of no actual value. 

Any person who thinks his idea concisely, com- 
pletely and energetically, is a good sender of thought 
whether he knows it or not and even whether he will 
or no. His wish against it can have no negative effect 
upon the law, and opinion when wrongly based is 
devoid of real power. The law cannot be permanently; 
avoided, neither can any one successfully interfere with 
its workings. Also, any individual who holds his men- 
tality in a state of quietude, remaining calm in his own 
thinking processes and willing to receive information, 
is a good recipient. Careful training through experi- 
ence will cause him to become sensitive to outside 
influences and he may soon develop expertness as 
a recipient. The "inspired" of all times have belonged 
to this class. 

It is best to go carefully, however, on this experi- 
mental ground. We should not be open and receptive 
to every influence of the mental highway. Psychic 
sensitiveness should never be developed beyond its 
normal state of action, except hand in hand with a 
clear intelligence and a strong will. These will enable 
the recipient to correctly judge the nature and purpose 



70 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

of the thought-influence received and to set it aside 

successfully or resist its impulses if not right or desir- 
able. Unless this condition be maintained a selfish 
influence sent by a wrongly-disposed personal mind 
may become hypnotic. Here it becomes a matter of a 
masterful will to do right and a corresponding deter- 
mination to protect one's own interests. This must be 
adhered to under all circumstances. 

But a fine discrimination is necessary in this judg- 
ment. The real rights of the individual seldom include 
the objects of desire. Personal wishes are not neces- 
sarily "rights." The rights of others also must be 
considered. The moral decision must include all con- 
cerned. To invade the psychic realm without the 
protecting influence of a moral sense of right and 
justice is to place oneself in the mental trench of 
hypnotic suggestion. And here each one will get his 
full deserts. The complete downfall of the intentional 
wrongdoer is certain in the course of time. According 
to the deed of the thought will be the receipts in psychic 
influence. In conscious thinking always send out the 
quality of mental action that you would receive from 
others. The Law is munificent in its returns. 

The degree of power of a thought, as regards its 
eventual action, is determined by its proportion of right 
and the predominance of goodness in its intent. The 
better its purpose the more powerful and lasting will 
be its influence. This should be remembered. Selfish 
thought based upon personal wishes may for a time 
seem to have much power, but it sows its own seeds. 
Many a promising mind has been choked and tortured 
by the weeds and brambles. Beware! The law is 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 71 

good, but it is also just; else assertions of its goodness 
were a farce. The reflection of a thought is a repro- 
duction OF ITS ORIGINAL. You have the warning. 
Be wise ! 

Knowledge of the actual operations of the mind 
as expressed through the mental image of a thought 
lends great conscious power to the thinker. It is also 
a holy acquirement freighted with responsibilities. In 
its right exercise for purposes of real advancement of 
one's own position and interests there is untold satis- 
faction, and in its unselfish use for the real good of 
others who require assistance there is indescribable 
joy. Abundant opportunity exists for its exercise in 
these ways to the full employment of all one's time. 
There are innumerable good ideas to think, and the 
world has need of all of their natural activity. The 
real satisfaction that follows such thinking recom- 
penses one for every sacrifice. 

By the very nature of the true law of thought- 
action we cannot think a thought intended for another 
without also receiving its action ourselves. The actual 
character of the thought-picture that we outline in our 
own minds will impress itself upon our own conscious- 
ness and reproduce its form in our own subconscious 
mentality as well. This fact proves the wisdom, even 
the necessity, of thinking good and rightly disposed 
thoughts for others. Then by the very nature of the 
law of thought-transference they return the same grain 
in full measure, pressed down, heaped high and run- 
ning over. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he 
also reap," is more than a figure of speech. He who 



72 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

formulated it understood the imaging processes of the 
mind and the returning force of thought-transference. 

But all of us may receive the greatest possible good 
from this beautiful law if we recognize it and govern 
our actions accordingly. The power of thought to heal 
diseased conditions rests on the imaging process and 
the transference of its action. If we accustom our- 
selves to thinking thoughts that bear the seeds of 
wholeness our thought perpetually carries a healing 
influence wherever we go. People will feel this influ- 
ence and some will speak of it as a quiet and restful 
atmosphere. It is so, and we all can generate it. The 
influence is the same for ourselves as for others. 
Every day's indulgence of such thought renders it 
easier to live in that element and so to generate more 
of the same life-giving qualities. All things actually 
right and desirable for us to have may be obtained in 
this way. They cannot be obtained by any other mode 
of thought. 

While thinking the activities and realizing the 
qualities of the principles of wholeness in any of the 
myriad forms in which they apply in daily life, there 
is no temptation to indulge selfish thought or to desire 
the injury of another, and repeated exercise of the 
thinking faculties, according to the true principles of 
real life, eventually renders thinking in those lines so 
natural, so easy and so manifestly right, that the other 
line seems unnatural and even impossible. 

The mechanism of the mind may be used for a time 
in either direction, but it cannot be exercised in both 
ways. The realisation of opposite lines of action, both 
being considered right, is a spiritual impossibility. 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 73 

Either one may be believed and held to, but not both. 
One may see a piece of cloth as red and another may 
as plainly see it as green. Both may be sincere, and 
with each it appears to be as he sees it. Neither of 
them, however, can see it as of both colors, nor can 
■either one see it now red and then green at will. As 
the vision is attuned, so the color will appear. It is 
the same with the matter of realization, only here it is 
more imperative and more permanent. 

He who has so attuned his thinking powers to 
reality that wholeness is an easy realization cannot 
view the separateness of personal desire as either whole 
or real, and in the active realization of that which is 
true he will find no time to harbor the undesirable 
guest of false views in life. This, then, is our greatest 
and best safeguard — to think truth until error cannot 
come in ; to realize wholeness until nothing that is sep- 
arate can seem real ; to embody health in our thoughts 
until the spectre, disease, can have no possible embodi- 
ment. Then health for both body and mind must pre- 
vail, and the wholeness of the spirit will become appar- 
ent in a full consciousness of life. 

This desirable state of mind is possible to all 
through suitable discipline of the thought-faculties. It 
is attained by allowing only thoughts that are funda- 
mentally right to hold continued sway in the mind. 
The full influence of such thinking will transfer natu- 
rally from our minds to others, either those with whom 
we habitually associate or those with whom we come 
occasionally in contact. The actual character of our 
thoughts will be reproduced in the minds of others 
and from them will return by simple reflection to 



74 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE AND 

influence us and we shall feel the influence, be its 
nature what it may. 

In the development of the many beauties of the 
realization of that which is true and good the world 
has need of all the aid possible for us to give. The 
healing field offers the greatest opportunity in this 
direction and its practice is the very best possible train- 
ing for the mind. Thought-transference and mental 
healing are very close together as operative function 
and power of the mind. In order that a thought may 
produce a healing effect it must transfer to the mind 
of some one needing it. Any thought of truth or good- 
ness that transfers in this manner enters the mind as 
a healing influence and produces a corresponding 
result, whether designed to do so or not. The quality 
itself being transferred and coming in contact with the 
same element in the subconscious realm of the other 
mind, calls it again into active demonstration. Then 
the mind of the recipient begins to think consciously 
along those lines and evolves similar realization of 
principle. Truths spread in this way through the 
unselfish work of minds imbued with the importance 
of doing good with every thought indulged. 

Fill your thought-realm with beautiful pictures of 
ideas that signify life, health, strength, goodness, hap- 
piness and peace, ignoring, meanwhile, their opposite 
ideas, and your mind will carry a healing balm to 
every one into whose face you look. Then friends 
will gravitate to you and you will exercise an influ- 
ence for lasting good. 

Even though you never see, in the flesh, the face 
of the one of whom you think and whom you would 



ITS RELATION TO MENTAL HEALING. 75 

help, the thought impulse will make itself felt and the 
sunshine of your countenance will impress the soul 
of your friend through the thought sent out, just as 
readily and perhaps with double force. Souls see face 
to face more clearly than personalities, and impres- 
sions of truth and reality are conveyed through the 
psychic forces with great power and accuracy. Beau- 
tiful thoughts produce beautiful reflections and invari- 
ably create harmonious feelings and responses. When 
rightly directed the power of the mind is sufficient for 
every demand in human life. 

The value of a practical application of these prin- 
ciples to the affairs of every-day life is more than might 
appear under a casual glance at the subject. Almost 
the first point for recognition here is the prompting of 
the mind to a more definite mode of thinking ; and this 
in itself will be of incalculable value. The masses do 
not think definitely or conclusively on any of the sub- 
jects with which they deal; and all of the important 
business transactions are effected by the smaller 
number of those who do exercise definite thought on 
the subject in hand. The indolent classes commonly 
consider these to be the subjects of "luck,'* still failing 
to recognize the fact that the "lucky chance" was the 
direct result of a closer thinking than they themselves 
are in the habit of employing. 

This close thinking, direct to the objective point of 
the subject, is most important in any undertaking. It 
is absolutely essential to thought-transference, because 
only the well-formed thought can reproduce an 
intelligible picture, when reflected in another mind. 



76 THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE 

In this way every experiment in thought-trans- 
ference helps to develop the most important feature of 
thought action, which is concentration. One who can 
concentrate his thought on a subject sufficiently to form 
an accurate picture of its main idea, together with the 
purpose to which it is to be applied in life, will find the 
direct and intentional transference of his thought to 
the mind of another to be the simplest of every-day 
affairs. It can be done at will ; and what is still more 
important and more far-reaching, it will transfer of 
itself without will, and even against one's own will, if 
it be clearly formed in the imagination. This law of 
mental action is always in operation. 

These suggestions are all good working rules for 
practical purposes in daily life. Read these pages over 
until you fully comprehend their practical uses and 
you will soon find yourself using them in daily practice. 
The results will be worth more than dollars can bring. 

Truth and Right contain all the value that 
exists in the world. 



The Folly of Worry 



Chapter V. 
THE FOLLY OF WORRY. 

Worry acts as a blight upon the mental faculties. 
Furthermore, it is a habit and can be either encour- 
aged or discouraged according to the exercise of the 
legitimate mental powers. These facts, though not 
generally recognized, are nevertheless true. They are 
also of vital importance to every man, woman and 
child concerned in this busy Western life of hurry, 
anxiety, care and struggle for an existence that is 
loaded with desire. They are important to the man 
because of the mischief he may work for himself and 
for his loved ones, by wasting in unnecessary worry 
energies that he might better use in productive ways ; 
to the woman because of what she might do to help 
her loved companion to think in strong productive 
channels if she should recognize his mistake in its true 
light ; and to the child because of the host of difficulties 
that he may meet in life with a conquering vigor, if 
he early learns to remain positive, and waste none of 
his forces in anxiety about the bridge before the 
stream is reached. 

Worry does not create energy. It never develops 
power or brings out forceful action for the fulfilling 
of any purpose. It never accomplishes anything. It 
is not a help, but is always a hindrance in any under- 
taking. It is negative in all its tendencies. The Pes- 
simist, if he ever gets so far as to have anything to do, 

79 



80 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

worries over that which he might readily accomplish 
with half the mental force and energy he expends 
upon the worry. Worry, therefore, is obstructive. It 
is always a sign of weakness. 

*'I am worried almost to death," remarks the hur- 
rying man upon whom extra duties have devolved in 
his business. "She has worried herself sick, poor 
soul," is said of the mother or housewife who has the 
care of others, and upon whom more duties devolve 
than she can attend to. 

The stress of life in this overwrought age, that 
seems to hold us all under bans, in both business and 
social ways, leads many to look upon worry almost 
as a duty. They consider it a necessity and feel 
impelled to it. "If I don't worry I can't keep my end 
up ; I should never fulfil my duty to my family. I am 
obliged to worry. I cannot accomplish sufficient work 
or transact business shrewdly enough to gain the 
desired end unless I worry constantly." These and 
similar arguments are heard on every hand. The rea- 
soning is fallacious and the state of mind which leads 
to it is necessarily abortive. It thwarts its own pur- 
pose. To every such reasoner I would say: 

This statement of the case suggests two thoughts 
which are largely responsible for the appearance of 
this restless monster which seeks to suck your life 
blood rather than to develop legitimate powers for 
action. You have admitted a heavy end to keep up, 
thus showing the mental attitude with which you 
approach your work for the day ; and, worse still, you 
have admitted that your mind is possessed of the idea 
(notion, rather) of "destruction." It is this false opin- 



THE FOLLY OF WORRY. 81 

ion that is responsible for all worry. Without it life 
would be the state of peace which it was intended to be. 

When one admits his load to be heavy, he quite 
naturally looks ahead to the time when he can no 
longer carry it — when his plans must fail; his ideals, 
the pride of his personal desires, must perish, because 
he can no longer keep them in operation ; and "destruc- 
tion" is his interpretation of the probable result, to 
which his morbid thought reaches out in advance. 

So-called destruction is a change which may, and 
usually does, bring into life new values better than the 
old; and a "load" is just as heavy as it seems — no 
more, no less, in any event. The harm is in the opin- 
ion held regarding the transaction, rather than in the 
result itself. The result is the legitimate outcome of 
natural law, and is necessarily right. In the end this 
will prove to be the case. 

Besides this, worry does not in any event help the 
matter. The undesired is not any less liable to occur 
because of the worry indulged. In fact, the vital point 
in the question all rests just here: By every law of 
action of the human mind, worry tends with all its 
seeming forces to produce the very condition that is 
not desired. Worry rests upon a foundation of fear. 
One worries because he fears some undesired result. 
Fear rests upon expectation of harm, which in turn is 
the result of doubt or uncertainty in the mental attitude 
indulged toward that subject. The whole line of action 
is uncertain, hesitating, anxious, negative and weak. 
The alertness and vigor of the positive forces are 
absent. 

In this negative attitude the mind enters a channel 



82 PRACTICAL HE.ALTH. 

of doubt, and all the kindred mental elements follow 
en train. First doubting, the individual really antici- 
pates "something" different from his desires. Next 
he expects what he anticipates. Then he realises the 
expectation as certain, and at once begins to worry 
about that which is expected — always something that 
is not wanted. The act of realization at once forms a 
mental image, or picture in the mind, and he then 
settles down to continuous thought on that idea. The 
longer he thinks the clearer the picture becomes and 
the more strength the idea seems to possess, until it 
controls his entire thinking apparatus and becomes 
absorbed in the object of his worr\'ing expectation of 
— that which has not come and may never come to him 
in actual experience. 

In the changing process of reconstruction, the body 
reproduces the action of the mind. The Image, per- 
sisted in^ affects the cells of the brain and nervous 
system, which, in turn, reproduce its destructive action. 
The thought of worr}% indulged perhaps because it is 
believed to be necessary in order to succeed in a phys- 
ical undertaking, becomes an inverted power for 
thwarting the ver}^ purpose that it was intended to 
support. In this manner the entire physical system is 
undermined and its forces scattered by persistence in 
a false imagination of something which does not exist. 

This unwise action may extend still further in its 
negative down-hill course. It is now a thoroughly 
established scientific fact, that an Image clearly formed 
in mind may be transferred to other minds by direct 
reflection. Through this action the other mind receives 
the impression and begins to think the same idea. 



THE FOLLY OF WORRY. 83 

Therefore, one who, by worry or continued anxiety, 
allows the imaging faculty of his mind to picture in 
thought-form that which he desires should not take 
place, calls into united mental action the subconscious 
activity of the mind of every person to whom his 
thought turns on that subject. This puts into opera- 
tion the most powerful forces of earthly life, for 
the speedy destruction of his own hopes, desires 
and plans. 

This operative action is not any less sure or effect- 
ive because all concerned are unaware of it. The 
action is subconscious, only becoming conscious 
through external results, and it is fully possible for a 
result to be produced entire, from start to finish, by 
subconscious mentality begun in imagination, and 
which would never have occurred if the original men- 
tal image had not been formed. 

These are the natural operations of mental laws 
which cannot be avoided by ignorance or wilful 
neglect. Once understood, they become powerful 
allies for use in every path of life, and render suc- 
cess in any laudable undertaking essentially sure. 

It is just as possible to use the imaging faculty 
tmderstandingly, and to control all the faculties so as 
to start action in the right direction instead of the 
wrong one. This done, the same laws of action and 
life that before worked toward ruin, now make for 
success. Then every vibration of thought on a given 
subject calls out a responsive vibration in the mind of 
each person concerned, until, subconsciously at least, 
all move in the same direction and combine forces 
for a mighty union that may stir the very vitals of 



84 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

human life. Under such action success must be 
an assured fact. 

A correct start is essential to an effective termina- 
tion. Through knowledge of the imaging processes 
of mind, thought may be consciously controlled, and 
the mental forces concentrated in correct lines, to the 
end that worry becomes impossible and every spiritual 
power is turned in the direction of the impulse desired. 
Then, all that remains necessary is, that the motive 
impulse be right, and that the desire be in accordance 
with natural laws. The higher forces, in which the 
greatest and most certain powers rest, lend themselves 
only to that which is true, the false being foreign to 
their nature. Under conscious understanding and 
right use of this powerful law everything right 
is possible. 

Worry is the nightmare of human life — a dream- 
illusion of something objectionable approaching and 
near at hand, where really nothing is, and usually 
nothing is to be. It is seldom that one actually wor- 
ries about anything real. Indeed, philosophically 
stated, this never occurs. The object of a state of 
worry is never quite at hand. It is anticipated, with 
fear, and this is why the dreamer worries. When the 
expected action or condition arrives, if at all, active 
dealing with the condition causes the worry to cease. 
]\Iany times, perhaps in most cases, the arrival of the 
expected condition shows no cause for worry. 

Worry is a state of uncertainty, of unrest, of doubt 
and lack of confidence. It is never present with the 
self-confident. It is therefore a negative condition, 
and its right remedy comes through the cultivation of 



THE FOLLY OF WORRY. 85 

a positive state of mind that shall stand guard at the 
door against all doubt and distrust of the powers that 
are always at work underneath the surface to help 
every mind that trusts them. 

Worry is not constructive; on the contrary, it 
invariably destroys the force of every faculty involved. 
It always rests upon fear and fear undermines both 
faculty and force, rendering all powers less active and 
less likely to succeed. 

What you cannot do without worry you cannot by 
any possibility do with or by means of it, is an adage 
worth remembering. It is absolutely true. That 
which one dreads^ and fears will come to him, he wor- 
ries about while he fears it. When anything occurs 
to banish his fear of it his worry vanishes instantly. 
Fear never yet accomplished anything and never will. 
To worry about that which you fear, therefore, is to 
place yourself in the same negative position as the fear 
occupies. This deprives you of all the confidence, 
courage and resolution necessary to conquer the diffi- 
culty if perchance it does arrive. Also this state of 
mind acts as a psychic influence to draw to you the 
very condition that you fear. If you continue the 
action, you may produce, through the psychic response 
of other minds, the very condition about which you 
unnecessarily worry. 

This does not mean_, however, that we should be 
indifferent or neglectful of duty. That is quite 
another affair. The duty is to be recognized and 
whatever difficulties may arise are to be courageously 
met. The necessity for attention and careful thought 
is fully recognized in this argument and its urgency 



86 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

admitted in the face of any impending action that 
might prove derogatory to one's interests. But that 
worry is necessary, or can be helpful under any cir- 
cumstances or is ever warrantable in such cases we 
strenuously deny. 

Any degree of worry is only an encouragement of 
fear, of which it is the "shade." It unfits the mind for 
clear thinking on the subject and so wrests from the 
otherwise strong right hand man's only weapon of 
either offense or defense. The mind that is absorbed 
in worry does not think so as to overthrow the trouble, 
but waits for disaster to overthrow him. On the other 
hand, one who, seeing danger ahead, buckles on his 
armor of clear-headed thought-energy, assured that 
no action of others, or of circumstances, can be so 
great that his intellect, supported as it always is by 
the psychic forces of the subconscious mentality, can- 
not understand and find a way to conquer, will remain 
clear in thought, keen of vision, alert and ready for 
action if the occasion shall come. Then he not only 
draws power from the unseen forces, but by the same 
laws repels any intended onslaught of aggressive 
parties and aids in overthrowing the condition before 
it arrives. 

'The thing that I feared has come upon me," 
groans the chronic worrier ; but the thing that, though 
impending, is met in the positive assurance of force 
sufiicient to conquer through clear understanding and 
calm observation of all its features, is killed in its 
incipiency and nine times out of ten never materializes. 

So worry under any circumstances is unnecessary 
and is always ill-advised. It would be vastly better to 



THE FOLLY OF WORRY. 87 

meet defeat courageously, manfully, with the strong 
assurance of right in the cause and an optimistic con- 
fidence of later success, because then all the forces of 
your being rally, and at once begin the psychic recon- 
struction that will restore conditions and insure future 
success. 

Whatever the mind does^ thoroughly, matter is 
compelled to reproduce; and that which the positive, 
forceful minds of the world do mentally the whole 
train of weaker minds will spontaneously imitate. 

Usually it is the idle mind that worries continu- 
ously. In any event it is the idle features of mental 
action that lead to worry. The one who is thor- 
oughly alert in action and active for a purpose, is so 
occupied with the mental accomplishing of that pur- 
pose that worry never enters his mind. He forgets to 
worry. But, while he continues so actively at his 
work he seldom "forgets" anything else. Which had 
he better forget — the worry or the work? One of 
these acts is really just as easy as the other. Such 
things become to the mind largely a matter of habit. 

While actively at work, exercising all the faculties 
continuously, as should be done in carrying out 
the details of work necessary for the producing 
of valuable results, the mind can not possibly worry. 
While intent upon its purpose, time passes unob- 
served and the mind is fully occupied with the accom- 
plishment. If there are other affairs that are not in 
a satisfactory condition, give full attention to the sub- 
ject with the same energy as before described. Make 
this the object of action for the time being, and 
approach it in the same confident and determined atti- 



88 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

tude that you would approach any other purpose in 
life. Do what you find to be actually possible with 
regard to it, and when you can accomplish no more, 
hand it to the one who is to carry it further, or set it 
aside for further development, as the case may 
demand. Become at once so busy with your next 
project or purpose that your time is all absorbed by 
the application of your mental forces to that purpose, 
and not even the shadow of worry will come your way. 

Confident activity in another line will often aid 
the development of thought with regard to the 
original subject, and show a solution of the problem. 
Worry or anxiety about it will act to prevent this 
intuitive power from doing its own work. A confi- 
dent trust in the inner forces of the spiritual nature 
will render worry an impossible indulgence. In the 
conscious exercise of spiritual intelligence the mind 
finds a remedy for every form of trouble. Its supreme 
confidence assures success in every wise undertaking. 

The innate force which subsists in all reality is 
the natural working power of the mind. Through 
due realization it may be employed for the easy 
conquermg of difficulties. The intelligence of the 
human mind is superior to all earthly powers. 

The teachings of genuine wisdom are all against 
worry. Trust the peace of pure understanding, and 
self-confidence will banish each unnecessary fear. 
Worry not, under any circumstances. Trust. 



VI 



Calmness and Power 



Chapter VI. 
CALMNESS AND POWER. 

The metaphysical aspects of a calm state of mind 
with regard to such affairs of life as ordinarily might 
result in agitated thought, fear, and perhaps ultimate 
distress, can scarcely be overestimated. The idea that 
power is active seems to carry with it in some minds 
the notion that there must be vigorous action, both 
mental and physical, or little power will be produced^ 
This fallacy leads one into the habit of indulging in 
agitated modes of thought, that develop vibrating^ 
action, which disintegrates the body and undermines 
mental forces, thus thwarting the original purpose of 
the thinker. 

On the physical plane it is in a measure true that 
movement and action are associated with demonstra- 
tions of strength and power. Yet even here the great- 
est degree of power shows the least agitated movement 
— a fact which speaks strongly for the idea that power 
and calmness are kindred elements. 

On the mental plane this becomes still more appar- 
ent, and very little observation is necessary to show 
that he who is mentally calm is correspondingly keen 
in observation, thinks clearly, and consequently devel- 
ops more power for action on a given subject than one 
who, in anxiety about results, indulges in agitation 
and vibratory thought-action. 

On the spiritual plane of actual consciousness, 

91 



92 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

where the being deals with real principles and laws, 
the rule holds true in all respects, that power rests 
IN CALMNESS. All Spiritual activity is silent, harmoni- 
ous, and correspondingly powerful in its perfect 
operations. The Spirit is never perturbed, but calmly 
recognizes the perfect and changeless harmony of the 
always powerful principles of reality. The soul, when 
dealing with the truths of being, finds no occasion for 
agitation, anxiety, distrust or the vacillating vibration 
of doubt, but quietly observes and calmly adjusts its 
operations to the quiet purpose of Spiritual Truth, the 
POWER of which shines forth in the soul of man in jusf 
proportion to his recognition. The mind, when not 
absorbed in selfhood, knows that to deal intelligently 
with any subject it must remain calm, quiet, contem- 
plative and receptive to the truth of that subject, or 
its thought will develop no powerful action whatever. 
If agitation be allowed to take the place of calmness its 
act ends in impotence and is likely to express itself in 
the noisy demonstrations of worldly opinion. 

In all affairs of life the greatest power results from 
calm, trustful co-operation with the higher principles 
of reality, which are active, yet harmonious, conse- 
quently always calm and peaceful. It is possible to 
realize such a state of calmness as this, at least to an 
appreciative degree, even in the ordinarily disturbing 
surroundings of every-day life. It may take some 
time and effort to change a habit which has been long 
indulged. This can be accomplished, however, and 
the reward in realization of power is well worth the 
effort. The powers of both mind and body are 
increased by the cultivation of the attitude of calmness. 



CALMNESS AND POWER. 93 

In the matter of health, the maintaining of a calm 
state of mind is especially valuable. Agitated thought 
always disturbs the health, and if continued may; 
easily result in sickness. One who maintains a calm 
quietude through all the changing vicissitudes of life, 
seldom has any use for doctors. Even in cases where 
grave danger appears to be present, he who remains 
calm retains more power to deal with the circum- 
stances and is more likely to perceive the means for 
correcting wrong influences and bringing about right 
conditions. The patient who is quiet and calm in sick- 
ness makes a quicker and better recovery than one 
who outwardly frets or inwardly worries in fear and 
uncertainty about the final results. 

We all know these things, but do we conduct our- 
selves in such ways as to take the best advantage of 
circumstances and retain our real and natural powers 
for use when needed? This question is most impor- 
tant, for the matter of health and happiness rests 
mainly with ourselves, and our usefulness in the 
world is measured by our ability to control circum- 
stances. And this depends largely upon the degree of 
calm and forceful determination with which we can. 
meet trying conditions and deal with them under- 
standingly, thus conquering difficulties under which 
others fail. 

Calmness in the midst of disaster has saved many 
a life that otherwise would have been lost; and it is 
unquestionable that unnecessary and unwarranted 
agitation under such circumstances has resulted in the 
loss of multitudes of lives that might have been saved 
by calm and deliberate action based upon clear, intelli- 



94 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

gent thinking, which would exhibit the source and the 
character of the danger and suggest the necessary- 
defense. 

The activity of spirit is calmness itself. Cultiva- 
tion of the spiritual faculties develops their forces and 
holds them ready for use in the time of need. There, 
is no better way to insure the possession of calmness 
and its innate forces when occasion for their exercise 
comes our way. 

Calmness always rests within, at the center of con- 
sciousness; consequently, we must look within our- 
selves for its powers. The more we realize our own 
conscious unity with the whole, the more content we 
shall be with our lot in life and the greater the 
natural calmness of our thought. We then come in 
contact with a universal whole. Disaster cannot over- 
take THE WHOLE, neither can it occur to any part of 
a "whole"; for if it should there would then be no 
whole, in which event nothing could remain. Outside 
THE WHOLE there is nothing, therefore no entity exists 
to bring destruction upon it, and no one would be 
present to witness or record the transaction. 

Only in the separateness of the sensuous operations 
of the mind can the liability to destruction or per- 
manent injury be entertained as an idea. All agitated 
thought, such as is exercised in fear, doubt, worry, 
anxiety or discouragement, rests on sensuous views 
that are based upon a belief in the supposed reality of 
matter. Base your conscious thought in spirituality 
and your attitude will become adjusted to its peaceful 
ways. Then Calmness may enter your heart and 
remain with you. 



VII 

The Usefulness op Occult Study 



Chapter VII. 
THE USEFULNESS OF OCCULT STUDY. 

The literature of the day is becoming more and 
more impregnated with ideas pertaining to the occult 
sciences, and with thoughts developed by comprehen- 
sion of those principles of action which have hereto- 
fore been considered as belonging to a hidden side of 
nature, and not to be understood by man in this phase 
of life. The teaching crops out in nearly every line 
of literary endeavor and already shows its advancing 
tendency in the most of our educational and intellec- 
tual methods, in both social and professional life. 

The question frequently arises: What practical 
use in every-day life has such a train of ideas ? Even 
if true, will men and women become better, stronger, 
more self-reliant, purer, more upright, or in any way 
better equipped for citizenship and social relation with 
others, through knowledge of Occult Philosophy? 

To these questions the answer is : Every true idea 
advanced by any of the various philosophies of occult 
science is uplifting and ennobling in its influence on 
human life, and tends inevitably to strengthen the 
character and give stamina to all the faculties of the 
mind and soul. The ideas are the expression of wis- 
dom accumulated through ages of profound study. 

"But," replies Mr. Solidweight of the business 
world, "questions relating to the mind and soul are 

97 



98 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

of little importance in a hard-scrabble life like ours. 
My soul (if I have such an incumbrance) must take 
care of itself ; my mind requires only enough attention 
to enable me to avoid the tricks of others and protect 
my own interests, but my body requires constant care 
in order that I may even live, and attention to occult 
philosophy would be a sheer waste of time on my part." 

The ground of this argument is entirely material- 
istic, and, in the light of metaphysical philosophy, is 
not well taken because not fundamentally true. The 
body, mind and soul, whether considered as faculties, 
functions, vehicles, instruments, or beings, are not 
separate and do not in any true sense either act or 
respond to action independently. They are mutually 
responsive to the vital activity of the spirit, the real 
being, man himself. 

A body does not exist without a mind ; a mind can- 
not continue in action entirely devoid of soul; and a 
soul with no spirit would possess no vitality and could 
not remain in existence. 

Every man is a being possessed of vital energy. 
The being operates superconsciously in pure spiritual 
activity, on the plane of Intelligence, dealing with 
absolute reality. The same being functions subcon- 
sciously, on the next outward plane, in various modes 
of consciousness, which, collectively, we speak of as 
soul-life. Here we describe him as Soul. Again he 
moves outward and downward, in his comprehension 
of things, and functions externally, through processes 
of reason, as mind ; intellectual power. Here he deals 
objectively with ideas, principles and laws, evolving 
a species of consciousness based upon the separate- 



OCCULT STUDY. 99 

ness of things, and the aggregation of his separate 
thought-processes forms itself into an organic struc- 
ture known as his body. It is not the man himself, it 
does not for a moment exist independently of either 
of these higher parts of his constructive being, and it 
should not receive his chief consideration. 

The intelligent activity of man's spiritual conscious- 
ness expresses itself in his soul-being ; the activities of 
his soul-nature are reproduced in the Mind; and the 
pictures formed in mind, by his thought-processes, 
crystallize in the organic structure of the Body. 
Therefore, to give entire attention to material sub- 
jects is to form only external pictures in the mind, 
thereby stifling all the higher faculties and subjecting 
the body entirely to external influence. This excludes 
the beneficent influence of all the faculties of the 
higher nature of both mind and soul, on the plane of 
intelligence; and Intelligence is the faculty that ele- 
vates man above the animal. 

On this lower plane everything is comparatively 
coarse and gross and every action becomes heavy and 
difficult to accomplish, until, finally, life itself, through 
its struggles, becomes almost unendurable. The buoy- 
ancy, brightness, happiness and content that belong 
by right to every human being, become buried under 
the accumulation of cares incident to material beliefs, 
until life seems so serious and important that the 
entire attention is given to bodily cares. 

Under this delusive experience the individual may 
perhaps, figuratively speaking, "gain the whole world," 
but he thereby "loses his own soul" ; i, e., he loses con- 
sciousness of his higher faculties and forgets that he 



100 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

has a soul. The more convinced he is that the only 
reality is matter, the more dense his views of life, and 
the more serious his daily duties become, until, even- 
tually, every care is a burden and every burden a curse 
to his existence. 

It is just here that occult understanding becomes 
valuable. As commonly defined, "Occult" means 
"hidden," but strictly it means that which is not plain 
to external vision ; that which the senses do not exhibit. 
It is that part of knowledge which is plain to the 
higher faculties of both mind and soul. The mysteries 
of existence may be studied and made plain through 
exercise of these higher faculties. Learning how to 
develop and use the higher reason, the philosophical 
powers of soul-intelligence, the perceptive faculties of 
the superconscious spirit-nature, gives knowledge of 
a thousand and one faculties and powers never 
dreamed of in sense-action and renders easy of solu- 
tion many a vexed problem of material life, not other- 
wise to be understood. 

The simplest rules of occult teaching enable the 
student to so frame his thoughts as to form pictures 
in mind, which, operating through the natural laws of 
reflective action on the body, influence its action in 
directions that may produce the very result that the 
mind, relying upon sense-action and material belief 
alone, finds impossible of accomplishment. 

The anxious cares of the mind with regard to 
bodily health vanish like shadows when the natural 
result of a conscious mental imagery of active ideas is 
understood. The stagnating worries about money 
matters and material values cease to oppress when it 



OCCULT STUDY. 101 

is seen that worry is only the continued action in mind 
of the mental picture of a conscious thought of the 
very thing not desired; that such action followed up 
only tends to produce the undesired result; and that 
through reasonable exercise of the higher thought- 
faculties the opposite result can be produced, even 
easier than the wrong one, because the higher facul- 
ties are involved and they invariably contain the 
greater power. 

The lower never controls the higher; we only 
allow the lower to operate uncontrolled, by withhold- 
ing the powers which we really possess and may use 
at will. Conscious realization of these powers within 
ourselves brings the buoyant, happy strength of the 
spiritual idea of possession, in the radiant hope of 
which the weighty stone of daily duty becomes a dew- 
drop that evaporates in the morning sun, and the 
problem of life a diamond, gleaming with the many- 
hued light of spiritual activity made manifest in the 
intelligence of man — the Image and likeness of Deity. 
Occult science deals with all of these problems and by 
means of its knowledge the difficulties of life are met 
with philosophic reasoning that banishes the most 
of life's troubles. Correct study of occult principles 
is the most important undertaking in life. 



VIII 

Methods of Healing 



Chapter VIII. 
METHODS OF HEALING. 

The previous chapters in this work have referred 
somewhat extensively to the fact of Heahng by act of 
mind or spiritual faculty, and have partially set forth 
the reason why such a procedure is entirely feasible. 
We will now consider the somewhat different methods 
employed by individuals. These are supported by so 
many earnest adherents that it would seem there must 
be some foundation for the reasoning by which each 
one is sustained. 

The mind in some of its varied modes of action is 
engaged with every such healing process, therefore it 
is important to understand the ultimate action of all 
methods. Health signifies wholeness. Hence the foun- 
dation of all legitimate systems of healing thought must 
be the same. If this fact can be established on a prac- 
tical working basis great good is sure to result; for 
the cry of anguish that constantly arises from those 
who suffer beyond the power of medicine or medical 
science to aid, is so appalling as to render personal life 
almost unbearable. 

When investigation of the subject of mental action 
or power as an agency of healing is first begun, there 
is apt to be some confusion because of the views pre- 
sented, which often appear to conflict. This seeming 
inconsistency, however, may exist chiefly because of 
incomplete experience rather than of erroneous views. 

That which actually produces beneficial results must 

105 



106 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

necessarily be good in its nature, even though it be im- 
perfectly understood. An examination sufficiently 
thorough will show a right mode of operation for prac- 
tical purposes. Such examination will also disclose 
any errors previously connected with that phase of 
thought. 

The subject of mental healing embraces the very es- 
sentials of comfort, happiness and continued life on 
this earth, and the right methods of employing it 
should be found and brought into practical use. 

In passing judgment upon any method of healing by 
thought, the right test is the actual producing of re- 
sults. But care is needed here. Not every apparent 
result in improving health comes directly from, 
through or because of the particular action that may 
be under observation. There are modes of action that 
are spontaneously set in operation by some act of the 
mind, which perhaps is not recognized at the time ; and 
once these are started they are likely to produce defi- 
nite results which bear no direct relation to the par- 
ticular mode or act of thought which may be under 
observation at the time, as the supposed rule of action. 
Careful observation will disclose this potent fact and 
aid in recognizing the actual raison d'etre of the heal- 
ing results. 

When the actual operative power is cognized it be- 
comes easy to adjust our thinking to the right modes 
of action; a correct method of healing may then be- 
come established, and operate according to the under- 
lying laws of human life. Such are the facts. Honest 
and thorough investigation is all that is required to 
demonstrate them. 



METHODS OF HEALING. 107 

It may be true that good exists in all the healing 
methods presented for our consideration; but the fact 
is evident that after making due allowance for the dif- 
ferences in fitness of practitioners, a larger proportion 
of success inheres with some methods than with others. 
The point of advantage with the investigator must rest 
in being able to determine which contains the most of 
actual fact in its reasonings. To determine the nature 
of the power that operates in each and in all methods 
that actually produce healing, is a long step in the 
direction of right understanding of the methods pur- 
sued and of the system of thought as a whole. 

As there are "many roads that lead to Rome," so 
there are many modes of action that lead eventually 
to the restoration of health; and while any one of 
these may be safe to follow, when rightly understood, 
it does not follow that it is the only safe or sure way 
for any one to regain health. The action necessary to 
restore health may be established by various ways of 
thinking, but the same fundamental principles will be 
contained in the different ideas employed for a healing 
purpose. Methods that are outside of these principles 
are deficient in power and will soon demonstrate that 
fact. 

Sometimes circumstances exist, or conditions are es- 
tablished by others, over which the practitioner has no 
control, and under which the desired result cannot be 
directly obtained by even the best of methods. It is 
plain that adverse judgment should not be rendered at 
such a time. Suitable study of the surroundings usu- 
ally will show ways of overcoming these adverse con- 
ditions, and in time the full results may be obtained. 



108 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

Suffering mankind needs all the help that it can have, 
and beneficial ways of relief should not be relegated 
to oblivion through ignorance, prejudice or hasty ren- 
dering of adverse opinions. 

"First aid" for imperative needs in daily life is one 
thing, and it may be accepted from any source not en- 
tirely wrong or dangerous; but a settled method of 
permanent cure, to be always relied upon, is another 
consideration. Here it is especially important that the 
theories rest upon verities and the method be estab- 
lished upon fundamental principles on which the op- 
erator can securely stand amidst the "howling of the 
gale" as well as during the personal security of the 
more indifferent "calm." Most individuals who think 
are to-day convinced that such principles of activity 
exist in the world and are accessible to the awakened 
intelligence of mankind. There are many evidences 
which point in that direction and lead up to results 
which render the proofs available. 

The discovery that the mind in its operations in con- 
nection with bodily existence shows influences that are 
closely associated with sickness and the ills of human 
life, has led to the devising of ways for employing it 
to get rid of sickness and re-establish health. This has 
proved to be a field so vast and so prolific of action as 
to tax "credulity" to the utmost. Hence, during the 
attempt to develop a practical system some confusion of 
thought has been inevitable. 

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" — not in 
the fact of the knowledge, but in its littleness. The 
new fields of action opened to view by the first recogni- 
tion of the wonders of mental activity are extensive 



METHODS OF HEALING. 109 

enough to lead the novice to think he has, as it were, 
fathomed the universe at one cast of the lead. This 
attitude is equally as dangerous and as reprehensible 
as the mistakes of his more materialistic predecessors, 
and should be rigorously avoided, in the mental as in 
the physical paths of investigation. It is a personal 
opinion only. 

The various systems (so-called) insomuch as they 
differ from each other as regards principles of action^ 
are the results of partial views of the subject. As 
neither our birth nor our schooling has given us much 
to rely upon for knowledge of the finer forces of 
nature which are involved in any actual test of mental 
healing, or, in fact, of the direct use of the mental 
forces in any way, continued experience appears to be 
required for the evolution of a thorough comprehen- 
sion of principles so great as those with which we are 
dealing. 

The real power of the mind is so great and its heal- 
ing thought so beneficent, that almost any turning in 
the direction of health will bring results to some appre- 
ciable degree. This fact may lead to some of the lim- 
ited views that are announced. Under each method 
the work is good so far as it goes. But no one should 
stop there. In order to formulate a method rightly the 
entire subject must be comprehensively grasped. In 
order to name a thing properly one must know it 
thoroughly — at least as nearly so as can be established 
at the present time. But, after all, names signify little 
in rendering judgment. The results are the real fruit 
of the tree. 

All systems of healing that produce satisfactory re- 



110 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

suits rest upon the same principles. Even those who 
deny these principles use them unknowingly, and thus 
gain the meagre results of their own operations by 
means of the innate powers of that which they ignor- 
antly denounce. 

Reality contains no conflicting principles, and no 
two opposing systems of healing can both be right as 
regards the points on which they differ. The principle 
will rest in only one of them. That found, the contro- 
versy will end. 

All of these things eventually right themselves, 
however; and in Metaphysical Philosophy, where all 
of the real operations of the mind find their abiding 
place, only that which contains the living spark can 
endure ; the others wither under the searching sunlight 
of Intelligence. 

To understand this subject aright, the Mind itself 
should be carefully studied. This alone is a task which 
few are ready to undertake. To imagine that the mind 
is not worth studying, because "the spirit is all" ; and 
to claim superiority for oneself or one's system be- 
cause mind is excluded from its vaporings, is the great- 
est of mistakes; for the mind is spiritual, both in its 
essence and in its activities. It is the spirit's instru- 
ment for action in this sphere of existence. A spirit 
without a mind is but a ghost of delusion in life here ; 
and it is here that the "healing" is required. To bring 
the spirit and its beneficent powers into operation here, 
and so be able truly to soothe and bind up the wounds 
of both body and mind in this life, constitutes the pur- 
pose of the healing philosophy. He who ignores the 
mind, therefore, in his study of man or of healing, will 



METHODS OF HEALING. Ill 

fail to understand the nature of his own being; for 
unless he can understand the spirituality of his mind 
he will know little of his soul and still less of the spirit 
which quickeneth. 

Methods of Mental Healing (so-called) which base 
action on the senses and relate themselves to the body 
solely or mainly for results and for proofs, are not true 
mental methods; they are but makeshifts, and are 
usually evolved through misunderstanding of man^s 
real nature. They are no measure whatever for the 
"science" of Mental Healing, and have no good reason 
for using the name. No continued good ever comes 
from these methods. They have no foundation in 
principle, and their results cannot endure. 

Also mental methods, in which their exponents use 
incantations based upon the will, and aim to use the 
mechanism of the mind to force phrases of words wil- 
fully upon the mind of another, are not true mental 
methods. They use and appeal to only the sensuous 
features of the animal mind, but do not appeal at all 
to the intelligence of the real mind. No actual healing 
action is ever established in these ways. 

All of the hypnotic methods are of this sort. They 
are based entirely upon the will and ignore the spiritu- 
ality of the mind and of intelligence. They are corre- 
spondingly limited in action and in endurance. No 
one can hypnotize the individual who maintains his 
own intelligence actively in operation and under his 
own direction. In all hypnotic action the moral tone of 
true Mental Healing is absent. A lower purpose rules 
all its action. 

There is, however, a genuine Mental Healing, rest- 



112 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

ing upon a sure foundation, in an understanding of 
the spirituality of every quality of life that is real. The 
philosophy is of the highest moral character. It aims 
to spiritualize both the body and the mind rather than 
to materialize the soul and the spirit. The philosophy 
contemplates man as reality of being and cognizes him 
as the spiritual work of a spiritual God, as Creator. 
It deals with his mind as the spiritually-mental instru- 
ment of a perfect being, possessed of wholeness, and 
consequently entitled to health. It then deals with 
the vicissitudes of daily life in such ways as to bring 
the wandering mind into realization of its own quali- 
ties, forces and possessions. This gives a foundation 
for whatever work may be necessary, and all of it will 
be carried on in the spirit of understanding which rec- 
ognizes man as actually a spiritual being, now, and, on 
that side of his individuality, as whole and sound 
reality of being. Then whatever deviations from this 
standard may have been made by his mind in his deal- 
ings with things and affairs of this life, may be duly 
considered, and adjustments made and carried out in 
thought for him by the operator, until the action has 
become re-established on the correct basis of full and 
vigorous health. Then he can successfully take up the 
work for himself. 

As explained in previous chapters of this work, the 
Imaging faculty of the mind has much to do with sick- 
ness, and, in fact, with all maladjustments in daily life. 
Some would-be critics appear to believe that because 
some give attention to Mental Images, that thereby the 
spirituality of the treatment is abandoned or reduced. 
This is a delusion, pure and simple. There never was 



METHODS OF HEALING. 113 

any good reason for the opinion. Assertions of spirit- 
uality do not annul the imaging operations of the 
mind; and no one can deny the fact that an image is 
formed in mind with every idea that one thinks. In- 
deed, we can truly say that the idea is itself the image. 
This is as true of the spiritist as of the materialist. 

After the "Image" of erroneous action is discovered 
as a cause of trouble then comes the question of re- 
moving it and re-establishing the normal condition. 
This is the highest grade of healing, and none but 
those having and holding a realization of high spiritual 
principles and their application to human life can pos- 
sibly do this part of the work. The processes used 
are those of pure spiritual realization. I repeat, with 
emphasis, no image can be erased except through pure 
spiritual realization. If this realizing act is not at- 
tained in the process of treatment, the Image still re- 
mains as it was before the attempt. 

A great deal of good mental healing, we will ac- 
knowledge, is performed without directly employing 
the "Image theory." That particular form of treat- 
ment, therefore, as a conscious understanding, is not 
absolutely essential to all mental healing. It is claimed, 
however, that it is by far the best, most efficient, and 
most lasting in its results, and that it reaches all kinds 
and classes of cases — all of those who can be cured in 
other ways, and others whom no other known system 
can reach. The reasons for this are that it is based 
upon a discovery of the actual operation of the mind 
which takes place during the processes that engender 
disease and trouble of all kinds, and that it operates 
through a reversing of the action involved. The heal- 



114 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

ing operation always takes place in this way, regard- 
less of the personal opinions or the particular incanta- 
tions of the individual healer. All thought, conscious 
or subconscious, operates through Images or pictures 
of the ideas evolved in its process. This is the law of 
thought-action. In proportion as the views change in 
thinking, the Ideas exchange in the intelligence and 
the Images are transformed in the subconscious realm 
of the mind. 

The scientific position in this rests in understanding 
the actual process, in knowing how to find the particu- 
lar Image, and how, by special application of thought, 
to remove the Image and stop its results, at will. This 
knowledge exists and may be conveyed to earnest in- 
vestigators. It is the scientific part of Mental Healing, 
but the rank and file of the sect know nothing of it. 
Some appear to talk glibly about ''Mental Images" or 
''Mental Pictures" when approached on the subject, 
but really know nothing of the processes and little even 
of the theory. They are, of course, unable to do the 
work required or perform healing of that order. 

Any system of thought that is rightly based upon 
the metaphysical principles of life, carries a healing 
power ; and so there may exist various methods of ap- 
plying thought, all good in themselves so far as the 
thought can go. Adherents are worthy of credence 
insofar as they hold to the principles of spiritual 
reality in man and prove their faith by their works. 
True sincerity in their work will usually disclose these 
facts and enable the enquirer to form a wise decision. 

By the continuous operation of natural laws the body 
is always a copy of the mind. Both conscious and sub- 



METHODS OF HEALING. 115 

conscious action is involved, however, and full under- 
standing of the subject cannot be acquired while leav- 
ing out of consideration either of these phases of 
control. 

The one who rightly affects the mind, therefore, 
eventually controls the body and its functions, even 
without any direct dealing with these in themselves; 
while mental effort applied to the External, alone, is 
overruled by other mental conditions that have thus 
far received no check in their spontaneous operations. 

For these reasons those who make the body and its 
sensuous functions the basis of their would-be healing 
acts, are not true Mental Healers, no matter what 
claims they may make as to authority or power; and 
those who work through the forcing of the will are 
equally as far away from the true centre of mental 
operation, for the animal will belongs to the sensuous 
nature and is the instrument of selfish action, there- 
fore only personal matters can be referred to it for 
action. 

Also, those deluded emotionalists who endeavor to 
deny and denounce both mind and metaphysics, claim- 
ing a superior spiritual knowledge, are so far away 
from true understanding that they can neither know 
the truth of the real healing power nor recognize the 
hopeless delusion of their wilful position. They are 
the blindest of the blind, for they suppose they see and 
presume all others to be blind. 

Those who deny or belittle mind in the matter of 
healing methods and power appear to overlook the 
fact that it is their own minds with which they do their 
own thinking, and they stoop to the lower level of the 



116 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

personal mind in their own more vindictive denuncia- 
tions of even that upon which they depend for their 
every conscious act. A deeper and truer thinking is 
all that is required here to establish the actual facts 
and bring all to the throne of actual power — a clear 
understanding of truth in its application to the life of 
individuals. 

The healing application of Metaphysics is a very 
high order of pure thinking, based upon a clear under- 
standing of the spiritual nature of man. It is the true 
Mental Healing in which the individual uses the mind 
as an instrument to voice words of truth, in thoughts 
which express the principles of being for the use of 
every sufferer. 



IX 

Causative Images 



Chapter IX. 

CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 

Presentation of the theory that mental images, or 
pictures in the mind, cause disease, has called forth 
considerable controversy. Some question the correct- 
ness of the theory and many doubt the advisability of 
its use in healing practice, though it be true. The 
average mental healer passes it with a mere denial. 
He often asserts that it is of no importance, and some- 
times ventures the statement that he possesses knowl- 
edge of a superior character. He would, perhaps, have 
us believe that he knows the whole matter, and so 
passes over this concept as insignificant. 

This, however, is a mistake. No one possesses any 
knowledge of healing whatever that is worthy of the 
name, but such as is already contained in this theory 
and is a part of its working power. And no healing 
knowledge exists that is superior to it. In its active 
operations it is based upon pure spirituality, and it is 
the natural accompaniment of the realizing of ideas or 
principles. No thought can be formed by any person 
without its accompanying representative image in the 
mind, and no intelligent act can be otherwise per- 
formed. It is useless to ignore this fact. The only 
wise course is to study and understand its action, and 
so to harness its marvelous powers for useful purpose. 
One might as well deny and ignore the act of breath- 
ing for the body, as to deny the imaging operations of 
the mind. If these operations exist at all, why should 
they be inoperative in the matters of sickness and 

119 



120 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

health? The fact of the matter is that there is no 
good argument against the theory. It can be denied, 
but not disproved. All the evidences of successful 
practice in healing sustain the main points beyond rea- 
sonable question. 

It is an established fact in psychology that every 
'. thought is imaged in the mind of the thinker. If this 
be true, then thoughts of sickness and of health both 
form images of their states of action and conditions in 
life. This law of action in human life has now been 
abundantly demonstrated in mental healing. It has 
also been discovered and repeatedly proved that 
thoughts containing the action of disturbance, establish 
themselves as such, and constantly tend to repeat their 
action. All branches of genuine healing philosophy 
illustrate this fact. 

The study of the nervous system also shows con- 
clusively that the character and qualities of the thoughts 
entertained in the mind are reproduced in a corre- 
sponding nervous manifestation, and that finally these 
modes of action become established in the correspond- 
ing parts of the organic structure, thus developing 
disease of an analogous kind. Physical action, nervous 
action and mental action correspond to each other, and 
interact to a marvelous degree. In this fact alone there 
is manifest a complete exhibition of cause and effect 
that it is entirely useless to attempt to refute. As be- 
fore stated, all the evidence that can honestly be ob- 
tained sustains it, while against it only a blank denial 
can be brought. Reason goes with it at every step, 
and the facts of healing practice prove it. 

The view commonly held with regard to the image 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 121 

theory, as expressed by the generality of mental heal- 
ers, indicates that what they call the picture or "image 
in mind," often is merely each one's mental picture of 
himself, his case or his condition. That he holds a 
picture in mind of himself with a cold, a fever, or 
whatever may be the supposed condition. The healer's 
part in the transaction is supposed to be the forming 
or holding of a different picture; and some appear to 
think that it means a mental view of the bodily con- 
dition itself. 

This, however, is only the primer of the picture 
theory. It is so small a part of it as to be almost too 
insignificant for attention. It is mainly what hypno- 
tists use as a mental operation! The Specific Image 
theory of cause and effect and its accompanying treat- 
ment, is quite a different matter, and involves an ad- 
vanced course of procedure. The same laws of action 
are involved, but in more advanced ways that con- 
sider a definite cause and a process that can be under- 
stood and intelligently used. The fact that the mind 
images its every act, is the foundation fact of the 
action involved. The further fact that the image of 
an idea of fear or disturbance is spontaneously im- 
pressed in the nervous system of the thinker's own 
body, in a corresponding nervous action, exhibits the 
connection of cause and effect. And here is where the 
facts take form in a practical theory from which a 
working hypothesis may be constructed. Such an 
hypothesis has already been formulated, tested and 
demonstrated. It is the most powerful and far-reach- 
ing as well as the most marvelous healing system of 
thought ever discovered. 



123 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

The mind, in this connection, is conceived as form- 
ing an image — not alone of itself, or of its own con- 
dition, either mental or physical, but of its action, 
with regard to the idea with which it has been dealing. 
Experience proves this to be a fact. That "image" is 
then stored in the subconscious archives of the mind 
regardless of the conscious action of thought, and the 
picture is retained subconsciously, even after all con- 
scious memory of the scene or the experience has 
ceased. 

This picture may be produced continuously in the 
nervous system in a corresponding action, for years 
after memory of the experience under which the pic- 
ture was formed has ceased to operate and the incident 
is apparently forgotten. The particular mode of ac- 
tion contained in the occurrence which formed the pic- 
ture of disturbance in the mind, will appear also in the 
nervous response, and thus, in time, a definite disease 
of the nerves may become established, extending to the 
organic structure to develop an organic disease of a 
corresponding kind of action. 

This has been previously explained, but the theory 
is so little understood that various descriptions may not 
come amiss. In order that we may comprehend it in 
practical ways the fact must be constantly borne in 
mind that the nervous system, operating from the 
nerve-centers, constantly reproduces whatever action 
takes place in the mind; and that the character and 
quality of the action will also be found in the repro- 
duction. In the realm of sensation, likewise, the repe- 
tition of action is prominent. The particular idea that 
was prominent in the experience from which the pic- 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 123 

ture was formed, will frequently be indicated by the 
feelings present with the diseased bodily condition. 
Tnese abnormal feelings also may be present, and 
simulate disease, when no such physical condition 
exists. 

The "Law of Correspondence," so commonly re- 
ferred to nowadays in the mental healing phraseology, 
relates to this comparison between an image in mind 
and the condition of the body, when considered as 
cause and effect. This is its right significance. 

In practice this has been observed and studied until 
it is sufficiently understood to be applied intelligently 
to all cases presented for treatment. The character of 
the physical condition, with its action and sensation, 
suggests, more or less forcibly, the kind of mental ex- 
perience that has preceded the sickness. Where this 
is fairly ascertained, mental treatment can be so applied 
as to stop the repetition of the morbific action. This 
will bring relief and eventually a cure of the case. 

This is what is now termed "Specific Image Treat- 
ment." It is strictly scientific in action, because based 
upon demonstrated facts, and exact in its legitimate 
operations. It can be explained to and understood by 
intelligent persons. Ik can also be used by individuals, 
privately, and it is a most valuable acquisition. 

As previously stated, the basis of the operation by 
which a mental picture or image is eradicated from the 
subconscious record and removed from the active realm 
of the mind, is a strictly spiritual philosophy of exist- 
ence, involving a deep metaphysical process of reason- 
ing and use of the thinking powers. Yet, with the 
basic ideas once grasped and understood the process 



124 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

is simple, as are all the operations of actual truth. The 
act is not a difficult one, either to understand or per- 
form. It involves, however, a process of reasoning 
regardless of sense-evidence, 2ind a consequent realiza- 
tion of pure spiritual principles. It does not involve 
a theological creed or any dogmatic form of religious 
views and processes of reason. In it there is no room 
for mere opinion, because only such action as produces 
results in healing and restoring mankind to the whole- 
ness of bemg, is included or employed. 

Assertions sometimes heard that the process is ma- 
terialistic, sensuous, or non-spiritual in philosophy, are 
based upon ignorance of the philosophy and its facts. 
The work is sufficiently powerful, however, to with- 
stand negative thought or action. *'By their works 
shall ye know them" was the rule once established. 
Words alone are worthless. Show the results of ac- 
tion obtained through repeated test — it is a strong 
statement or denial that can override such testimony. 
The imaging processes of thought contain t^ie 

ONLY strictly ACCURATE AND RELIABLE ACTION IN 

MENTAL HEALING. These are entirely metaphysical 
in character, and the process of using them for healing 
is absolutely spiritual in nature. 

The assiduous multiplying of names for the process 
does not change the character or quality of even the 
simplest principle contained in the philosophy. It is 
entirely metaphysical throughout, and must remain so. 
This virile fact enhances its value to mankind beyond 
ordinary comprehension. 

There is no divine process that operates to the ex- 
clusion of metaphysical principles. All such claims 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 125 

are based upon delusion. The work actually per- 
formed by all healers who use processes of thought of 
any kind, whether they call it mental, psychic, meta- 
physical, spiritual or divine, or any of the numerous 
combinations of these terms is all accomplished through 
the subtile operations of the imaging of ideas ; and any 
philosophy which adequately describes or explains it, 
is metaphysical in its nature. Successful refutation of 
this statement is impossible. The facts are all with 
it. 

Any thought (so-called) that does not form an 
image, cannot by any possibility be transferred to or 
reach the understanding of another mind, because the 
picturing or imaging faculty is the only means of 
COMMUNICATION between minds. It is the universal 
language through which all ideas are communicated. 
He who denies this as regards his own mental opera- 
tions thereby affirms his own mind to be that of an im- 
becile — the only class that lives without consciously 
imaging ideas. 

But, seriously, there is a fact of life here that should 
not be overlooked, and that will bear repeating: "The 
only means of communication between two minds, or 
individual intelligences, is through the imaging of the 
ideas dealt with." No matter what the external in- 
strumentation may be — written word, oral speech, sign 
language, or silent thought — the picture of the thought 
or image of the idea must form in the mind of the 
thinker, himself, before he can comprehend that about 
which he would think; and he must recognize and 
understand before he can communicate the idea to 
another. 



126 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

The word "image" here does not mean alone shape 
or outlined form, but rather formulated action. There 
are mental images of heat and of cold and of every con- 
ceivable action, not associated with definite shape that 
is describable in physical terms. It is in this broader 
view of the term that the word "image" is presented 
here, and in which it is used in metaphysical philosophy. 
Such ideas as relate to "form" in personal life, take on 
a sensuous shape and transfer in that similitude; but 
those of higher character possess form of a "soul" 
character; higher, finer, and more subtile in activity, 
but operating in practically the same ways. Here com- 
munication is natural and accurate, though not so easy 
to understand; hence it is usually misjudged. 

On this plane of life and of understanding, this is 
the only means of conscious thinking or of the com- 
municating of ideas; therefore, as the healing of one 
by another depends upon the communication of ideas, 
it must occur through the operations of the imaging 
faculty, for this is the only law of thought, or of its 
action, that is known to man. 

Assertions of inspiration or special authority for 
power do not count in this consideration. There is no 
God extant who can set aside His own definite laws, 
on special occasions. Those who claim such favors are 
either deluded cranks or deliberate impostors and un- 
worthy of consideration. Genuine mental healers do 
not claim special inspiration or exclusive favors. They 
are bright, active and sincere investigators of real law, 
and they develop working power through the under- 
standing of things as they exist here. 

The many and subtile ways in which the imaging 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 127 

faculty operates, necessitates a close study of each case, 
to learn the facts and determine accurately the help 
needed in that particular instance. This may deter 
some who might prefer the easier method of bluffing off 
whatever suggestions are offered with a blunt state- 
ment of : *'Oh, there is nothing the matter with you" ; 
or, "Your head doesn't ache"; or, "You haven't 
any leg to be hurt"; or some such fool remark that 
betokens at least the approach of the imbecile period. 
With each case presented for treatment, there is some- 
thing the matter; something wrong, if only an opin- 
ion; and it is the practitioner's legitimate business to 
find that troublesome element, learn about it and apply 
the right curative power along the lines of mental in- 
fluence for help. The supposed "thing" in the way 
may not be real — from the basis of true reasoning it 
is not real — but the wrong idea is there and must be 
rightfully counteracted. 

The true practitioner stands on guard constantly 
against accepting the false statement, and never allows 
himself to think the wrong thought or image it for 
himself or his patient; but still there is work for him 
to do in readjusting the wrong views previously held 
by the patient and giving him a new basis of action for 
future use. This is the legitimate work of which the 
sufferer is in need, and he should have the "bread" in- 
stead of the "stone." 

In order that we may better understand this work- 
ing a few experiences in the practice of the past years 
are given here. Each instance cited is from an ex^ 
perience of the writer's own and is vouched for as en- 
tirely correct in every particular. Various kinds of 



128 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

cases are presented in order to suggest the wide range 
of action involved. All demonstrate the theory of 
Cause and Effect in the mental healing of sickness and 
disease. 

Case 1. — A lady in middle life, exceedingly bright, 
active and intelligent, the wife of a prominent mer- 
chant in a New England city, applied for possible relief 
from a most distressing case of nervous prostration, 
almost hysterical, and complicated with indigestion and 
internal troubles. Medicine had been tried in all ways, 
but physical means of aid proved useless. The attacks 
showed the idea of '"suffocation" more prominent than 
others. She felt that something dreadful was shutting 
down over her head, and that she would be suffocated to 
death before relief could be obtained. 

The mental diagnosis disclosed a runaway scene in 
which she was crushed under the overturned top of 
the carriage. She was alone, helpless, and deeply im- 
pressed that she was to die there from suffocation. 
She was not seriously injured, however, and was res- 
cued shortly; but the "idea" had become established 
and she was never well or mentally free until that pic- 
ture was removed. She had been treated medically, 
with skill, for dyspepsia, diseased nerve-centers, bron- 
chitis and pulmonary conditions, which were supposed 
to cause the attacks of suffocation. None of the symp- 
toms or conditions yielded to medical treatment, but all 
disappeared upon the removing of the picture. While 
the idea of danger remained registered in the sub- 
conscious realm, its action was from time to time pre- 
cipitated in the nervous system, entering through the 
nerve-centers; and it constantly reproduced itself in 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 129 

such parts of the physical organism as correspond to 
the functions that were involved in the mental ex- 
perience of the accident. The mental, nervous and or- 
ganic operations were mingled and united in their dis- 
turbing influence. Thousands die annually from the 
direct results of such subconscious pictures. All such 
cases can be cured by the Specific Image Treatment. 

Case 2. — A man about fifty years of age came for 
relief from serious nervous and pulmonary symptoms, 
together with a distressing fear of being buried alive. 
He knew of no reason for the fear, but could not get 
rid of it. He would awake from sleep, choking, gasp- 
ing, and with a sense of a lack of air, and shortness of 
breath. He lost much rest, was nervously exhausted, 
looked haggard and feared pulmonary consumption, 
which appeared to be developing rapidly. 

When a boy, he had been hunting eggs, and while 
so engaged he crawled through a hole in the wall 
under the sill of the barn into a place only high enough 
to permit him to enter. He got the eggs and started to 
crawl out. But the shape of the stones forming the 
wall was such that he could not get out as he got in. 
He was thus caught in a small space, flat on the ground 
with little air, and no way to make his plight known. 
Cries for help reached no ear and he knew would not be 
heard that day. He pictured the experience in his 
mind, even to the extent of having been buried alive, 
which he considered it to be. He fully expected to die 
there. He escaped after a long time, but the "idea" 
remained with him. 

This experience was forty years back in his life, and 
he had not consciously thought of it for many years; 
but it was subconsciously active at times, and the idea 



130 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

in mind was continuously repeating itself as a warning 
against the danger conceived at the time. He was 
cured twenty years ago by removing that image, and 
he has been well and happy ever since. If the mental 
image had not been removed it would in all probability 
have caused his death many years ago. 

This is not an isolated case except in its own par- 
ticular features. The principle of action involved and 
of curative operation is the same in all similar cases. 

Case 3. — A girl in her fifteenth year was placed in 
the writer's care nineteen years ago by her father, a 
prominent man in the insurance business. It was ap- 
parently a case of rapid decline, and with every evi- 
dence of consumption developing. The menses had 
ceased for several months. 

Tracing for causes only minor experiences were at 
first discovered, and these were not considered suffi- 
cient to produce the conditions present at the time. 
Closer inquiry, however, elicited the information that 
about two years earlier several of her girl friends were 
drowned by the upsetting of a boat on the river, far be- 
yond help. She was not present and did not see the 
affair at all. She heard it described, however, and 
took it all in so acutely that it seemed to her as though 
she had been there and actually experienced it all. 

She was never well after that mental scare, and later 
she went into the decline in which she came for treat- 
ment. Her father begged that "her life be saved if 
possible," but doubted the possibility. The choking, 
strangling and suffocating features that accompany the 
usual idea of drowning were prominent sensations with 
her. Sleeplessness, indigestion and nervous weakness 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 131 

were marked symptoms. She feared the water and 
would not go near it. 

This scene, which she had pictured in mind until she 
lived it over in daily thought, was now made to close 
its subconscious operation. It required treatment in 
several different features because of the peculiar cir- 
cumstances, but as soon as these features of action were 
under control she began to improve and in a few weeks 
was entirely cured. A young life was thus saved and 
the happiness of a family preserved. The picture or 
image of danger and death, with its absorbing horror, 
was the sole cause of all the trouble. Any mode of 
action that can remove such a picture must be of 
inestimable value to mankind. 

Case 4. — A naturally strong, ambitious and intellec- 
tual young woman studying medicine in a prominent 
university, broke down and became bedridden with a 
definite and severe form of spinal disease. The father 
was a prominent official of one of our large railway 
systems and the entire family exhibit more than or- 
dinary intellectual ability. They are not in the least 
imaginative, as the word is ordinarily used. 

The diagnosis showed hard study and close appli- 
cation. On inquiry it was ascertained that her mind 
had been impressed to an overwhelming degree with 
the vast importance to mankind of the spinal system 
of nerves. While studying that subject anatomically 
she began to have the sensations that she read about 
and heard described. She soon developed the ac- 
companying symptoms to the degree of helplessness, 
which had continued for months and showed no signs 
of abating. Medical procedures accomplished nothing. 



132 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

Mental treatment was now applied to the images of 
disease fixed in the mind, and as these yielded in her 
subconscious mentality she grew strong and eventually 
was entirely cured. The mental picture of disease, 
distress and consequent danger was the only cause of 
this serious trouble. 

Case 5. — A physician about sixty years of age came 
for treatment to relieve a protracted state of diarrhoea. 
He had been troubled with it at frequent intervals for 
many years. The case was traced to his early days in 
the medical college, when he was dissecting, and study- 
ing intestinal action. His sympathies were deeply 
stirred and he formed an image which remained always 
with him. 

He stated that in thirty-five or more years of prac- 
tice he had never had under his care a case of intes- 
tinal trouble without developing the condition himself ; 
and in violent cases he would develop it almost imme- 
diately. It had been the bane of his life, in his prac- 
tice. He was relieved soon by treating the mind for its 
abnormal images ; and he was eventually cured. 

Case 6. — A boy of six years with the left arm para- 
lyzed, was beyond hope as affirmed at the Massachu- 
setts General Hospital. The arm swung helpless in the 
socket and was but two-thirds the size of the other. It 
had been helpless for three years. The child was 
cured by treating the mind of the mother, who had in 
her mind the picture of a violent death for him. When 
three years old she saw him in a dangerous place, de- 
pendent only on his hold with his left hand. She 
screamed, and, of course, he fell. He was not hurt ex- 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 133 

cept as her image hit him in mind, but the arm was 
helpless from that day. 

This seems a clear case of a transferred or reflected 
image — intense in the mother's mind — and which acted 
as an absolute control of his mind. The body would 
have outgrown that arm before his mind would have 
outgrown or overthrown the abnormal mental influence. 
What can medical science do for such cases ? 

Case 7. — ^A girl of nine years with a case of total 
paralysis of the optic nerve, and consequently of total 
l)lindness of that eye, was brought to the writer. The 
highest hospital authority in Pennsylvania had pro- 
nounced it "absolute amaurosis,'' incurable, and re- 
fused to treat, stating that the nerve was dead. This 
dead nerve was shown to the parents by means of in- 
struments. It was stated that the other optic would 
in time be involved and that total blindness was in- 
evitable if the child should live. The supposed cause 
given by the physicians was an attack of diphtheria 
when three years old. 

In her third year she had fallen from the side of a 
high piazza off "into the darkness," and a flesh injury 
was received under that eye. The child fell screaming 
with fright, but retained no conscious remembrance of 
the scene. This picture was treated the same as 
though she had remembered the experience, and she 
recovered. The first impression of light that came to 
the eye was interpreted as "the room full of sparks," 
and she declared the house was on fire. Gradually the 
strength and tone returned to the paralyzed optic nerve, 
and after another week she could read letters one-quar- 
ter of an inch high. In five weeks sight was entirely 



134 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

restored to that eye. Some more time was required 
for the gaining of full strength, but the recuperative 
work was accomplished by removing the one image. 

In these and similar kinds there have been large 
numbers of cases treated with success, and innumer- 
able cures have been effected, including nearly the 
whole gamut of sickness. A huge bookful of such 
cases could easily be described and more are being 
added to the list continually. The theory of cause 
and effect in the operations of the mental image is 
demonstrated thereby to such an extent that it seems 
to be conclusive. Lives are saved and complete cures 
effected after given over, often by the highest authori- 
ties of both Europe and America. 

These instances all carry the evidences of fear in 
the excessive degree of fright. Not all mental causes 
of sickness, however, are caused by fright, though a 
very large number of severe cases can be traced to some 
such experience, but to no other adequate cause. 

Fear in any of its forms and degrees acts as a cause 
of some corresponding symptom of suffering. Con- 
scious fear of something that may happen and is con- 
ceived as liable to occur, causes many cases of illness. 
Worry has its full quota, through the usual disturb- 
ance of the liver and its functions. Dread of the pos- 
sible results of some action supposed to be going wrong 
has its own line of destruction of both mind and body. 
Fear of criticism by others unnerves many a person 
who has some more or less public work to do. Stage 
fright belongs in this category, producing temporary 
inability to act, and sometimes illness. Fear of the 
"unknown quantity" in any line of experience is a 



CAUSATIVE IMAGES. 135 

great destroyer of power. It paralyzes the faculties. 

Fear of disease itself as a supposed thing possessing 
adverse power, has probably destroyed more lives than 
all the bullets ever cast, or the pestilences that ever 
raged. Medical schools and medical men are largely 
responsible for this fear. They have so enlarged upon 
the asserted fact of physical disease, that the public, 
unacquainted with the deeper facts which might pro- 
tect, have accepted the statement as absolute fact, and 
a paralyzing fear is the result. 

Whatever the mind consciously pictures as a fact of 
danger and makes it a personal affair, may at any time 
become a cause of a similar condition in that person's 
own life, or with those of whom he thinks in that con- 
nection. 

These are the actual facts of the common operations 
of the minds of all people, and all suffer more or less 
because of them. Deplorable though they may be, yet 
their results cannot be overcome or avoided by either 
denying or ignoring the facts. Ignorance of a uni- 
versal law does not leave one immune from its oper- 
ative effects. Knowledge of the operations of the 
mind, however, renders a complete remedy possible. 

The system is not so easy to explain for self-help as 
some of the more emotional methods, but it is far more 
important, because it goes to the root of the matter 
and contains the real "balm for every wound." Many 
ways can be explained in which we can help ourselves, 
and the "preventive" features of correct thinking in 
these lines are worth more in everyday life than all 
other teachings combined. 

Learn "control" first through understanding that 



136 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

which you would control. Then the way is easy and 
the reward large. The image theory offers a definite 
ground of action on which all may receive full benefit, 
in both prevention and cure. 



X 

Mental Safeguards 



Chapter X. 
MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 

The hypothesis of Mental Action as causative of 
sickness leads to the question whether there is not 
the possible danger added of becoming afraid of the 
mental picture that is causing the trouble, or per- 
haps becoming afraid of the fear itself. Indeed, 
some peculiarly timid persons have been found who 
appear to be ready to dodge responsibility for their 
troubles rather than to undertake an investigation 
which might possibly disclose a new source of fear. 

This fear, however, is incident only to timidity. 
If such danger exists, it is a menace so long as it 
is not sufficiently understood to enable its influence 
to be duly overcome. It may be possible to evade 
this responsbility for a time, but the results are not 
to be escaped. The neglect or refusal to recognize 
a fact, or to examine into it, does not unmake it as 
a fact or lighten the danger incident to its continual 
activity. In case of a liability that such action may 
affect us in life or health, the refusal places us blindly 
in its way, and we will be more likely to suffer the 
penalties of ignorance. The plea in favor of such 
refusal has no more to justify it than there would 
be in the case of refusing to recognize the destructive 
action of fire, or of water, or of any other source of 
danger, from recklessness, simply because such 
recognition is likely to and indeed actually does de- 
velop fear of those things or elements. 

Even while they remain unrecognized or are tem- 

139 



140 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

porarily ignored the operation of subconscious mental 
pictures proceeds in the ususal manner and the results 
may take us unawares at any moment. In case that we 
are unprepared, they may take us at great disadvan- 
tage. Indeed, this occurs with innumerable individu- 
als every day. And while all are open to the adverse 
influence of fear and fright in their various forms, the 
majority are without substantial protection from them. 
A few only are sufficiently fortified to resist success- 
fully the tendency of the mind to yield to the sub- 
conscious influence. It would seem, therefore, that the 
first step to take should be to investigate the facts as 
presented. If not true, investigation will determine 
the question, and we gain the advantage of having- 
obtained actual knowledge in the matter. 

In the case where a mental image or picture is op- 
erating as the cause of trouble there is no occasion for 
fear of the fact. Rather, there should be rejoicing for 
having made the discovery, because, the sure means of 
recovery is now disclosed and may be employed, where- 
as in other cases without number there is no safe 
means of cure known. In fact in almost every case of 
actuai distress mental images are the original cause- 
But as their existence is not known either to the pa- 
tient or the physician, various tentative means are ex- 
perimented with, to the extent sometimes of a terrible 
menace to human life. Yet when their existence is 
discovered and properly understood, these causes can 
be removed; also an attitude of mind can be attained 
which will prevent the forming of mental images which 
are likely to become sources of disorder. 

There are several ways in which this may be done^ 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 141 

We will enumerate some of them : Calmness ; alertness 
of mind ; clear thinking ; patience ; self-assurance ; con- 
fidence in one's self ; the higher assurance of confidence 
in spiritual power; courage; fortitude. All these are 
helpful. Many individuals instinctively hold them- 
selves beyond the paralyzing influence of fear, and 
often exercise an almost heroic degree of self-control, 
hardly knowing how ihey accomplish this, but at the 
same time, acting from the inner consciousness in some, 
spontaneous manner. This, in itself, is of great im- 
portance. The quality of self-possession and presence 
of mind should be always diligently cultivated to as 
great an extent as possible. 

The mind images the most vividly tnat which is 
feared the most intensely. When, therefore, at the time 
of apparent danger, we succeed in holding back the 
very consciousness of fear, or at least modify the ap- 
prehension of danger, and so keep the sensation of 
fear under control, the image or picture of the trans- 
action will be milder, and there will be correspondingly 
less of the agitation which produces suffering and sick- 
ness. The ill results of a picture, if precipitated at all 
under such conditions, will be insignificant as when 
compared with those of a mind exercised in terror, un- 
restrained and uncontrolled. 

But, the question rises, how may all this be accom- 
plished when an individual is of timid disposition and 
liable to be overcome by fear? Of course it is easier 
in some cases than in others. In fact the yielding to 
each new apprehension that arises is largely a matter 
of habit, and the mmd can be trained to overcome it. 
There are, however, persons whose minds, at some 



142 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

former period have received deep impressions of 
danger and fear, who, because of those impressions 
which remain active in the subconscious realm of the 
mind, are more subject to the overpowering influence 
of new objects of fear than would have been the case 
if those pictures had not been present in the mind. 
There are many degrees of this peculiar condition of 
mind. Some of the pictures have been impressed mild- 
ly and consequently are not intense in their action. 
These can usually be set aside and consciously over- 
come. Others, however, appear to be beyond the con- 
scious control of the individual. 

In these specific cases, the right remedy is the direct 
treating of the former image or picture of disaster by 
one who knows the laws of action involved and under- 
stands how to remove the image of disaster from the 
subconscious realm of the mind. When the picture, or 
pictures, shall have been removed the further liability 
to morbid apprehension will disappear. The mind is 
thus restored to normal condition and the individual 
may thereafter venture on self-control on future oc- 
casions with success. 

If a person would exercise these powers to advan- 
tage he must retain conscious possession of his faculties 
and their natural powers. With these in full or or- 
dinarily good condition he may train himself to a more 
definite control and exercise of the higher faculties of 
the mind. This is, at all times, the most effective 
method of avoiding the results of fear. Keep the mind 
under sufficient control so that when some untoward 
or unusual experience seems likely you can command 
your own thinking. Regard yourself in your mind as 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 143 

superior in power and ability to the things or influ- 
ences that may be about you or involved in the sup- 
oosed or expected occurrence. In this way you may 
maintain due confidence in your own powers for pro- 
tection. This will keep you cool and alert. You will 
then feel yourself master of the situation. In this at- 
titude of mind there will be little or no fear, or appre- 
hension of trouble, and the pictures formed in the mind 
will have none of the fear-element. This conserves 
all the energy and forces of the mind for use. 

If something should occur beyond your power to 
prevent, or if there are trying circumstances and 
scenes of a disturbing character, continue to retain 
control of the thinking processes and refuse to go into 
details more than may be actually required by duty. 
Do not at any time yield to morbid curiosity to gain 
possession of disagreeable details, but pass them by 
as quietly and as lightly as may be consistent with 
strict human duty. Avoid picturing unpleasant details 
in mind which will not enable you to help any one. 
During any period of excitement think quietly on the 
ideas of strength, power, quiet, and peace, speaking 
those words mentally and feeling an assurance that 
they are permanent elements in the order of the uni- 
verse, and that the right will prevail. For you can so 
word your thinking as to make it conform to the con- 
ditions and circumstances with which you have to 
deal, and at the same time remain constantly calm, 
quiet and forceful in your own interior self. 

Refuse with your whole mind to see objectionable 
features or to think about them in detail; and if you 
are obliged to deal with them as a matter of duty, 



144 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

think of them as unreal and temporary rather than 
otherwise. For they are not the facts of the universe. 
Leave them out of consideration as nearly as possible. 
Refuse to talk with others about the details of any 
harsh or distressing scene, and forget it as soon as 
possible. This course of proceeding will prevent the 
building in the mind of a picture of a past spectacle, 
unless the mind has photographed it at the time strong- 
ly enough to cause trouble; and it will aid strongly in 
banishing from the conscious realm remembrance of 
harmful experiences that cause mischief with severe 
recurrences of thought. 

These rules may be applied likewise to all aspects 
and phases of every day life — the worries, "cares," 
anxieties, perplexities, and ordinary fears. Avoid the 
^^undesirable" whenever you can do so without neglect- 
ing a duty. Face a danger when it is right or neces- 
sary to do so, but do it with a calm conviction of 
spiritual superiority, and with the determination not 
to recognize, admit or allow the existence of any un- 
necessary point of trouble. Then watch closely every 
indication of a movement that may possibly be warded 
off, turned aside, checked, or controlled in its action. 
This will give you something to do in the matter. 
The mind that is busy is seldom unduly influenced by 
fear. It is the idle mind of a person who does little 
else than watch for details or for his own safety, that 
is the most easily overcome by apprehension even when 
no real danger exists. 

It is to be understood, of course, that there are in- 
stances in which any mind will receive a shock that 
is uncontrollable. The individual in such a case is not 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 145 

responsible for what may take place with regard to 
the experience then or thereafter. But such cases are 
extreme. They are the exceptions. When such oc- 
currences leave their impressions in the conscious 
thought, or their images have become pictured in the 
subconscious realm of the mind, the remedy is as has 
been already set forth, to be found in the intelligent 
employing of the treatment for the eradication of the 
specific image. This will remove every trace of it and 
prevent its reappearing. 

In certain cases, the mental picture may have been 
impressed by an occurrence so sudden that it was not 
possible to prevent it. The scene is, in consequence, a 
source of distress. Under these circumstances if no 
one is present who can apply the proper treatment to 
obliterate the trouble, the individual himself can ex- 
ercise his own thought and thereby greatly ameliorate 
the conditions. The mental picture is vivid, and this 
terrifies the sufferer. This is the occasion for him to 
€xercise the completest self-control. 

If the case is an experience of your own — ^be calm; 
think "calmness." The mental picture belongs to the 
work of appearances and not to the universe of reali- 
ties. Refuse, therefore, to acknowledge that the pict- 
ure is a real thing. Instead of permitting the psychic 
eye to contemplate its features, transfer the thought 
about the scene to some different matter. Persist 
firmly in passing right on to some other scene or men- 
tal view. For example, where the "mind's eye" or 
psychic vision appears to picture an ugly object or con- 
dition of life, then see a violet, a rose, a bird or some 
other agreeable object, and see it by looking directly 



146 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

through the apparent but unreal substance of the 
psychic vision, at the substantial reality of the other 
and higher idea. 

Persist in this way, and the mind will change its 
imaging operations accordingly. This will be found, 
for the time at least, a powerful self-help. Nobody 
yet knows to what extent it may go in demonstration. 
Do not receive this idea Hghtly. It is a serious matter 
and most important to us in such a life of fear and ap- 
prehension as we are now living. It has a scientific 
value as regards psychic force in the mental realm. 

The metaphysical practitioner, of course, has an ad- 
vantage over the novice in these operations; never- 
theless any one can accomplish important practical re- 
sults, and the faculty is certainly "worth developing." 
The power belongs to whomsoever can exercise it. 

The basis of this mode of cure — the ground which 
the metaphysician occupies, may be stated as follows: 

I. Man is a spiritual entity, and his body is simply 
his instrument of action in the physical world. Hence, 
as the body is never considered to be the individual 
himself, it is not directly associated in his thinking 
processes with the actual realities of his being. 

II. Reality is composed of spiritual substance, 
changeless and indestructible ; hence, changing objects 
and conditions, as manifested in accidental occurrences, 
are not in any sense the entities of the universe. They 
are not permanent as entities, and do not endure as 
actual realities. This eliminates them absolutely from 
the realm of reality. It also leaves the materialistic 
problems barren of results and allows the mind to re- 
ceive impulse from metaphysical understanding. 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 147 

Life is more than flesh or its activity, and reality is 
other than matter-stuff. Entertaining such convictions 
with positiveness he can approach the matter of an ac- 
cidental occurrence in which physical personalities are 
mingled and concerned, and not see any genuine reaUty 
in it or recognize any thing actual as connected with 
it. He formulates in his thought no theory or con- 
cept of injury to that which is not real, or of death in 
the case of that which does not actually live. This 
philosophy gives the practitioner foundation for a 
course of thinking that permits no imaging of fear, 
and he passes unscathed through scenes that over- 
whelm the average worldly thinker. 

The full realization of the actual truth of this state- 
ment will enable the reader to avoid the imaging of 
distress in his own mind, and also give him the power 
to remove an image of this character from the mind of 
another. At least it will hold it quiet till it can be 
properly treated by an expert metaphysical operator. 
The more exactly the thought of the operator can be 
adjusted to these metaphysical concepts, the more 
readily and effectively can he deal with the vicissitudes 
of life, and the greater will be the power to deal with 
the various images of evil occurrences, conscious as 
well as subconscious, and with their accompanying con- 
ditions of trouble and suffering. 

This statement can be depended upon in emergency. 
The requirements are an accepting tentatively, at least, 
of the main principle in regard to reality and the full 
possession and control of the thinking faculties. It is 
not difficult to attain to all this. Relegate the five 
senses to their own limited sphere of personal action. 



148 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

and recognize the spirituality of real being. The rest 
\vill adjust itself under the earnest applying of at- 
tention and thinking, to the aim and purpose of the 
higher will. The result will more than repay the ef- 
fort. Repeated results and continued good influence 
will eventually demonstrate the truth of the premises. 

The world would applaud to the highest degree any- 
physical means possible for acquiring such power. But 
it is not possible; nothing physical can approach the 
fineness of activity involved and no physical basis of 
thought can be found for the producing of such re- 
sults. In the realization of this philosophy it is to be 
readily obtained, however, and always in mental quiet 
and spiritual peace, through the knowing and realizing 
of the simplest facts in existence — the spiritual whole- 
ness and permanence of reality and the universal 
power of the mind when operating through spiritual 
understanding. The stream and its source are one, 
and alike in their nature. 

The actual reality of the universe is always un- 
harmed and undisturbed, whatever may be the illu- 
sions that pass for realities in the external vicissitudes 
of personal Hfe. The earHer that we can adjust our- 
selves in some measure to this conception, both in our 
reasoning powers and in the exercise of our thinking, 
the more quickly will we realize the peace that per- 
tains to a mind void of fear. Spiritual understanding 
contains no fear of amthing; and its exercise by the 
individual insures calmness and its consequent powers 
of mentality. 

To the full understanding of these rules for action, 
the more recondite and complete teachings of the meta- 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 149 

physical doctrine are of course necessary. These, how- 
ever, are too voluminous for these pages. The impor- 
tant suggestions which are now given are for the bene- 
fit of those who, having ears to hear and minds to 
understand, are likely to profit by the knowledge. 
Further information is given in its proper place to 
those who can make it a study. Here, however, is 
contained a simple outline embracing the elementary 
principles of a precious system. It is a philosophic 
statement setting out a scientific procedure which can 
be relied upon for good results. Its character is as 
the pure religion of simple goodness. 

The power of the mind and soul to produce a state 
of health among mankind is shown to be present, and 
in a form which contains the essence of life without 
alloy and impairment produced from false views of 
the matter. The metaphysical procedure, therefore, 
conserves the good and true, without the seeming evil 
and false, which inheres in imperfect reasoning or 
selfish purpose. It accomplishes all that can be ef- 
fected by any legitimate methods that thus far have 
been discovered. It includes every known principle of 
action that relates to wholeness, and is efficient for all 
purposes. It affords a safe and reliable remedy for 
every troublesome element in life that can be changed 
to sounder principle by any means whatever. It will 
cure where a cure is possible. The aim in this phi- 
losophy is to include all parts and functions of man's 
being in order that the whole may be the better under- 
stood. The right understanding of these will enable 
us to comprehend what relates the whole being. In 
such knowledge there is power. 



150 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

If the condition which gives trouble is "worry," we 
should look the entire matter over carefully and obtain 
an understanding of all that is involved. Often the 
means are direct to the end. We worry because we 
fear, and we fear because we do not know our way. 
Aim to understand the peculiarities and functions of 
being which are involved in the condition under 
notice, and ascertain what should be done to relieve. 
This will occupy the mind and avoid the establishing 
of unnecessary fears and forebodings. 

Upon arriving at conclusions different from the 
former apprehensions, the images and pictures in the 
mind, if they have not been fixed by sudden or intense 
action, will change and the impulse to fear may pass 
away. In fact we fear only what we do not under- 
stand. On this account it is necessary, not to say 
urgent, to gain all the actual knowledge that is possible 
on the subject and keep it foremost in the mind. Thus 
the confusion which leads to fear may be avoided. 
Later and careful consideration of the entire subject 
involved will usually dissipate apprehension by which 
worry is induced. 

Fear of others, and of what they may possibly do to 
harm us, usually is based upon an over-estimating of 
their real power. It should be treated in the same way 
as worry. Besides we often silently inspire and prompt 
others by our thinking. To cherish apprehensions in 
regard to the adverse or unfriendly action of others is 
to exert a powerful influence to induce them to act ad- 
versely toward us ; or at least to prompt and encourage 
them in this silent way to this undesirable mode of 
thought. This inclination in us must be overcome. 



MENTAL SAFEGUARDS. 151 ' 

Good is not engendered by evil thinking, no matter 
what the purpose or intention. 

In short, think what is right and therefore desirable, 
instead of the wrong which you deprecate. To be ap- 
prehensive, and to persist in thinking about a certain 
thing or condition will invite and over attract it. Check 
such thought always on the instant that it is perceived. 

The persistence in the practice of shutting out un- 
desirable thought as soon as it appears is of more 
importance almost, than any other practice in daily 
life, and it is sure to keep away most forms of 
apprehensions. 

Attempting to *' cross bridges before they are 
reached " is a very common form of fear. It is very 
wearying, as everybody knows, and at the same time 
it accomplishes no purpose. "Sufficient unto the day 
is the evil thereof" — the burden then to be borne. 
Never look for evil or try to think of action in ad- 
vance of its time, as to what it is like. Recognize the 
actual facts of real life, but discriminate between these 
and the results of fear or overwrought imagination. 
Real facts are never evil. Most of the rocks in our 
path are mists before our eyes. When we "walk into 
them," the rocks are not there, as all have learned by 
experience. The most of the "things" which we are 
afraid of never existed for us, and often they never 
existed at all. Indeed all such conditions are illusions 
and relate only to external conditions. There is, indeed, 
trouble enough in the world without borrowing it or 
manufacturing more. Let us therefore train our minds 
to deal with actual matters, and to keep busy. Then 
when emergencies arise we may be in better condition 



152 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

to meet them, assuringly, and so make victory easier 
The imaging operations of the mind are of more 
importance than any other function and they are mani- 
fest according to our intelhgent use of our thinking 
faculties. Banish the troublesome element, whatever 
its nature, by apperceiving its nothingness as regards 
reality. This method of thinking will grow with use, 
and it will become as much of a habit to protect our- 
selves from error in the world, both physical and men- 
tal, as it may have been formerly to cringe under af- 
fliction and suffer its evil effects through misuse of the 
imaging faculty. 

While we are thinking, consciously, the mind is 
imaging the thought subconsciously and stowing it 
away for future reference. That is a law of Life, and 
this is our lesson : to know how to regulate our think- 
ing so that the picturing operations shall be harmoni- 
ous, and the subconscious image take on and retain 
life-giving qualities. 

This will make us Masters of Mind. It will enable 
us to control surrounding influences, and to mold con- 
ditions and circumstances to useful ends. 



XI 

The Nature of Disease 



Chapter XI. 

THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 

Disease and sickness are commonly considered as 
an interruption of and a departure from the normal 
condition of health. The opinion has been generally 
disseminated, however, that they are distinct entities, 
having a positive being, and necessarily possessing a 
material base of action. This notion has obstructed 
the intelligent conception that they are altogether ab- 
normal conditions and under the control of the indi- 
vidual mind. Nevertheless, if this fact were better 
understood there would be more confidence and a 
correspondingly less degree of fear of ill results. 

Most individuals are aware that apprehension ag- 
gravates morbid conditions and the danger of sickness, 
whatever their form. Some have likewise reached the 
conclusion that certain forms of fear actually produce 
sickness, which may finally develop into some specific 
form of disease as a result of the morbific mental 
action. 

It is not contemplated by this statement to induce 
mental apathy in regard to such matters and so, per- 
haps, create danger through unwarrantable neglect. 
Instead, it is desired and expected that the almost ab- 
normal fear that commonly prevails may be arrested, 
and that the mental activities may be so adjusted as to 
avoid unnecessary suffering. The importance of such 
mental control as this is more fully comprehended 
when we recognize the fact that mental conditions and 
states of mind react upon others. By the transference 

155 



156 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

of thought-pictures, the minds even of a family, a 
social group, or a community may come under mor- 
bific influences imparted by a mind acting under the 
impulse of fear. It is plain, therefore, that such in- 
fluence should be kept at its lowest possible point. 

The etymology of the word ''disease" shows that the 
idea was originally evolved through reversing the idea 
of ease. The Latin prefix dis is a negative preposition 
denoting separation ; a parting from something ; and in 
connection with that to which it refers, it represents 
an absence, a lack, or a want. This syllable prefixed 
to the term "ease" gave the original word dis-ease. 
In this, its original form, none can fail to understand 
either its meaning or its nature. It does not indicate 
a presence, or the prevalence of an actuality, and it 
bears no positive or assuring character. It is entirely 
negative — simply a departure from healthy life. From 
the earliest times the idea of disease has been that of a 
lack of ease; an absence of comfort, quiet, peace. It 
meant un-rest; un-ease; discomfort; dis-ease. 

This meaning evidently prevailed in the earlier cen- 
turies when sickness was considered philosophically 
and its treatment conducted more along those lines 
than is done to-day. The combining of the harmless 
term "ease" with the prefix '^dis" into the compound 
word "disease" has resulted in a forgetting of the 
legitimate meaning, and the evolution of the relative 
concept of "absence," a nonentity, to the "presence" 
of a supposed entity possessing positive characteristics. 
With the advent of this supposed entity, conceived only 
in the sense-reasoning of the human mind, there has 
been developed its inevitable consequence, fear; — the 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 157 

fear of the "thing" itself, for which the name now 
stands in the minds of the human family. 

That the people in general are afraid of disease as a 
supposed thing possessing real being, and consequent 
power, needs no elaboration. We observe the fact 
constantly, everywhere. And, indeed, under the 
modern conditions of life there appears to be much 
reason for such fear. Nevertheless, much of it is 
groundless. There are many rational ways under 
which it can be moderated and even dispelled entirely, 
with safety and actual advantage. 

The supposed "thing" disease is commonly consid- 
ered as having many definite forms, each attended by 
specific modes of action, degrees of energy and venom- 
ous qualities of its own. In such notions we have all 
been indoctrinated and almost everybody appears to 
think accordingly. Most individuals leave the consid- 
eration of such matters to the physician, and accept 
his decision as the law of the case; yet, it is as easy 
for the professional mind as for others to follow a bias, 
and the teachings of his education often are based upon 
doctrines not sufficiently proved. This is especially 
true where the finer activities of life and of being are 
ignored or neglected in the evolving of theories or the 
applying of practical methods of healing. There are 
points here for consideration that are vitally important 
to every member of the human family. 

It seems to be a fact almost absolute, that the more 
disease is studied with confidence, the more forms and 
varieties of it apparently come into view. It is equally 
evident that the greater the number of remedies that 
are offered, the more numerous are the forms of dis- 



158 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

eased action with which we have to cope. There are 
reasons for this which should be investigated and con- 
sidered. The objects which are habitually contem- 
plated have the influence to express their nature and 
qualities upon us. Even unreal appearances may thus 
impress the sensuous nature with a seeming evidence 
of reality. 

The only good reason for the study of disease is 
that we may acquire the means and knowledge for the 
alleviation of the suffering which it occasions. During 
the entire period of history little seems to have been 
actually gained in the understanding of the subject. 
Many forms of it have been brought to notice, new 
ones being continually discovered, apparently, and 
there is a constant increase of those which are set down 
as incurable. There may be some exceptions. There 
is much claimed in regard to the excluding and even 
conquering of particular maladies through quarantine, 
sanitary regulations, etc., and doubtless much good is 
accomplished in these ways. Nevertheless, the disease 
itself remains as seemingly real a fact as ever; and 
there is little disclosed about its origin or character. 
Indeed, there has been little more achieved in this re- 
spect than the changing of names, theories and opin- 
ions, much as figures are changed at the turning of the 
kaleidoscope. 

Each form of disease is named and studied mainly in 
reference to the organ or part of the body where it is 
manifested. Yet so long as this course is pursued there 
can be but little progress in the intelligent understand- 
ing of the matter. The disorder often subtilely in- 
volves a more extensive region of the body, and in fact, 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 159 

may pertain to it as a whole or to its entire functional 
action. There are many reasons for entertaining this 
view of the subject. When any one organ or part of 
the body is out of harmony or exhibits disease in its 
own sphere, the whole body is certain to be more or 
less involved. In fact, no form of disease can be 
treated aright or successfully by itself alone. In the 
treatment of any type of disease, attention must be 
paid to the entire human economy. 

Some writers and investigators have declared that 
disease is practically a unit — one thing or condition af- 
fecting the whole system ; producing one manifestation 
in one part or region, and a different one in another, 
but all related in action. Thus, the symptoms and 
other phenomena may be diversified with individuals 
or in different circumstances, but all will be related to 
one another. 

This view of the subject conforms reasonably to 
numerous facts which are very generally observed. 
Indeed, many maladies seemingly diverse from each 
other, and with corresponding modes of action, have 
been found to be so nearly alike in the original cause 
and history, that there is much evidence in support 
of the theory. 

This is remarkably illustrated in fever. The numer- 
ous names given to it mainly signify the definite lo- 
cality in the body, or the peculiar features of the dis- 
order, while the subjective conditions are almost iden- 
tical. For thousands of years fevers have been learn- 
edly described and treated by medical men, who claimed 
superior knowledge in such matters. Yet the same 
types of fever exist now as formerly. Often they are 



160 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

treated in diametrically opposite ways in different parts 
of the world. Sometimes this state of opposite pro- 
cedure exists in the same localities, and almost under 
the same class of persons in authority. Indeed, no two 
savants agree entirely on any rule of therapeutics. 
What one considers as "law" another will decry as 
error, and declare its advocacy to be indicative of 
dense ignorance. Not only does one sect discredit the 
ways of another, but persons of the same denomination 
differ thus widely. There is "a screw loose" some- 
where in the "scientific" cabinet. There ought to be 
greater unanimity of theory and opinion in regard 
to the character of disease, and also its treatment. 

In the Metaphysical School it is considered true 
that disease is one in its nature and should therefore 
be approached in all cases from the same point of view. 
The varying treatment which may be required in indi- 
vidual cases, is based upon the mode and intensity of 
the action from which the sickness proceeds. The 
trouble invariably begins with some form of un-rest, 
or dis-ease, which, after developing for a time, evolves 
some particular form of physical disturbance or dis- 
tress, which exhibits distorted symptoms analogous to 
the disease with which it began at the outset. The de- 
velopment is after the method of nature — from the 
simple to the complex, as well as from a lesser to a 
greater degree of intensity and discomfort. No matter 
what was its former energy, when it is developed 
to the point where the sensationalist observes it and 
gives it a name, its history is known. It began with 
simple non-ease, a sense of discomfort, and developed 
through the gamut of degrees and modes of activity 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 161 

from the sympathetic to the cerebral and cerebro-spinal 
nerves ; from the nervous system to the functional ac- 
tion ; then to the organic structure, to be labelled finally 
as a new-comer in the field of organic disease. 

The earlier stages of the action of diseases are usu- 
ally not noticed. So many unpleasant sensations and 
symptoms appear and pass, with no serious occur- 
rence following, that there is likely to be carelessness 
where there is matter of moment. But the premoni- 
tory symptoms are of vital importance. If they are 
discovered at the outset, and there is a true understand- 
ing of the matter at that stage of the disturbance, it 
can almost always be arrested and brought down to its 
natural proportions of nothingness. It originates in 
negatives, as "un" in unrest ; "dis" in disorder and dis- 
ease. These denote "without," the 'lack of" some- 
thing more genuine and real ; and the nature of disease 
is of the same order, being without actual reality. It 
possesses no substance and of itself has no power. The 
supposed "it" does not possess intelligence. It always 
has its origin in the sensuous mind, where alone can 
non-ease obtain place and recognition. From there the 
notion is pushed forward as an idea, and a supposed 
fact is reported. It soon becomes established as a new 
entity. Its various forms of activity proceed from the 
various modes and conditions of non-ease, to which 
the mind lays itself open by its many erroneous reason- 
ings. The nature of the abnormity is one, and its 
action the same in character, or rather absence of char- 
acter; but its ramifications are many. They extend 
through the sensuous field, and so we experience dis- 
comforts many and corresponding diseases galore. 



162 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

The chief impediment in understanding this series 
of facts consists in viewing disease superficially by its 
manifestation in its physical form. This, however, is 
not the thing itself, neither is it the cause but simply 
the effect of certain action. Disease can never be un- 
derstood through examining of the physical condition 
and considering that as the "thing" with which to deal. 
The disease, its cause and entire nature are all back of 
the physical condition and must be dealt with at the 
very seat of the disturbance. 

This is the reason why medical theories and medical 
writers have failed to describe accurately what disease 
actually is, or to establish remedies which suffice for 
its treatment. The nature of disease is not well under- 
stood by them and its conditions cannot be rightly 
overcome under their theories. 

As the mind changes its adjustment many such con- 
ditions change also and pass beyond observation. In 
this way some diseases become self-limited and wear 
themselves out, so to speak, sometimes without medi- 
cines and sometimes in spite of medicines, which, when 
given mistakenly only make conditions worse; for the 
mind is always uneasy subconsciously when poison is 
present in its own physical organism, and all drugs 
are poisons. Sometimes both of these kinds of un-ease, 
when combined, overpower and cause the mind to 
abandon its body now rendered practically uninhabi- 
table and useless for its living purposes. In this way 
drugs have probably peopled more churchyards than 
all other causes combined. The people killed by poi- 
sons used or administered as supposed remedies, would 
comprise an army that might easily conquer the world. 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 163 

Every disease is mental in its origin. The indi- 
vidual must possess a mind, active enough to know- 
ease from dis-ease, and sane enough to be able to think, 
else no known disease can enter his realm. To under- 
stand this statement fully the mind must be considered 
in both its conscious and its subconscious phases. 
Neither phase of action alone can represent its action 
in entirety. Mental disease as here indicated always 
possesses the nature of unrest and is characterized by 
a lack of harmony ; and in both of these it is a creature 
of absence rather than of actual presence. Further- 
more, it always rests upon fear or apprehension of 
some kind or degree. Find a perfectly fearless per- 
son, one who actually has never feared anything 
(there are such persons in existence), and you will 
see a thoroughly healthy individual sanely in possession 
of his own faculties and usually independent enough 
to control himself and his circumstances. 

The main element, then, in the generation of dis- 
ease is fear. Without it we cannot have disease. Indul- 
ging its varieties of distorted emotion we lay ourselves 
open to every conceivable form of sickness and disease. 
The fear that generates disease may be either conscious 
or subconscious, in the mentality. Both are amenable 
to the control of intelligence rightly exercised. 

Man has built his own fears and they all rest upon 
degrees of ignorance. God never made either fear or 
disease for man's use or for his disuse ; and man is not 
a helpless victim to their ravages. He has but to control 
his fears and he has the dragon, disease, by the throat. 
Illusions seem real only while we continue to believe 
and fear them. 



164 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

A calm confidence has overthrown many a seemingly 
hopeless illness, while abnormal fear has carried away 
millions who might otherwise have remained to com- 
plete their work. Thus, knowing the actual nature of 
disease we need never fear it. It is not an entity. It 
has no ways or means of injuring us. It can plan no 
harm. It is only a negative emotional condition, which 
the mind weakly allows within the realm of its think- 
ing experience. But in the exercise of intelligence the 
mind has full power to deal with it and to conquer 
every known form of the supposed monster. The first 
searching light of genuine intelligence that is thrown 
upon it causes the fact of its nothingness to begin to 
appear. If such thought be continued the supposed 
"it" will soon vanish. Disease cannot stand before the 
wide-a-wake operations of active intelligence. Remove 
the fear of it from the mind of any sufferer and he is 
half cured, already. Remove fear, itself, or any par- 
ticular fear that has been holding sway subconsciousl}^ 
if not consciously in his mind, and you have him cured, 
even in the face of adverse opinions and appearances. 
Thousands of seemingly miraculous recoveries made 
after science had declared a cure impossible, attest this 
fact. 

As repeatedly stated, heretofore, a fixed picture can 
best be removed by direct action brought to bear by one 
who knows the work required, but each can accomplish 
much for himself through confidence and persistent 
application of right thinking. Disease is literally noth- 
ing, hence there is no occasion for us to fear it. In- 
stead, we should bring to bear upon the appearance of 
it the best of our real thinking forces until the illusions 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 165 

of the false belief shall be overcome. All of this is 
actually true, though it is a phase of knowledge so 
foreign to the thinking of the world in general that 
the statement cannot be accepted readily by those who 
believe in its unhappy nature. 

The problem that confronts the practitioner, how- 
ever, is not the direct curing of "something," as a 
-supposed disease requiring to be cured; nor yet tha 
curing of "nothing" as some would-be facetious ones 
occasionally express it; but to aid the sufferer to 
change the views and opinions which have led to the 
conditions that give trouble, and by direct mental treat- 
ing to erase from his mind such definite pictures or 
delineations of disturbed action as are causing him suf- 
fering and possible trouble. The cure is rather a cur- 
ing of the cause than of the disease ; of the mind rather 
than the body, so far as the practitioner's act is con- 
cerned. A mind in health never had a sick body. 
When bodies are sick there is always something wrong 
in the mentality, and a careful search will disclose it. 
Then the power for a genuine cure is at hand. Once 
the malady in the mind is cured the condition of the 
body will spontaneously return to the normal. 

A "cold" may follow a fright. Or it may result 
from continued anxiety ; from excitement ; depression ; 
worry ; or from a fit of temper. In each of these vary- 
ing disturbances the kind of cold will differ somewhat 
from those generating from the other lines of distorted 
mental action. Other symptoms also may appear in 
connection with the cold (so-called), and will be deter- 
mined by the mental disturbance, as much as by the 
features of the cold itself. 



166 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

In this line of facts lies an intricate study that is 
intensely interesting to investigators, and more pro- 
lific of actual results in the relief of mankind than any 
field of medical research. The entire gamut of disease 
stands examination in this way. The diseased condi- 
tion always corresponds to some mental state that can 
be proved to have been present before the first evi- 
dence of the disease itself. One of these is cause and 
the other effect. Place them together in your under- 
standing and deal with them only as one action, 
PRESENT IN TWO PHASES, and you will safely control 
the circumstances and conditions. 

It is both useless and dangerous to poison the physi- 
cal system because the mind, temporarily at variance 
with Itself, is expressing itself wrongly in mentality. 
The disturbed mentality, when recast in the nervous 
system, is sufficiently upsetting to the physical body 
without adding vile poisons to its circulatory processes 
to complete the ruin so inadvertently begun. The body 
now more than ever needs the equalizing influences 
of every harmonious act that can "be brought to bear, 
in order that it may resist the onslaught of the dis- 
tressing mentality. The mind and all of its operating 
activity should be supported, rather than the body be 
further burdened with dangerous elements to be eli- 
minated later, as they must, before health can possibly 
become reestablished. 

This is why medicines (so-called), are not really 
"remedies." They do not restore to health by their 
own powers, they merely change action ; and this takes 
place blindly and uncertain as regards results, often re- 
sulting disastrously. Medicines, whether drug or other- 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 167 

wise, never reach the actual cause of the condition 
and hence bring no direct action to bear against the 
disease itself. If this fact were more generally known 
the dangerous and useless custom of poisoning the 
victim because he is already sick, would cease. 

The greatest medical authorities of the world have 
from time to time made these and even stronger state- 
ments, and they continue to make them. Every day's 
experience redemonstrates their truth. The immediate 
families ^of the Doctor and the Druggist take the least 
drug medicine of any. They may believe in disease but 
those of ample experience are weak on medicines, espe- 
cially drugs. They see far too much of the disastrous 
results to risk their own too deeply. If drugs are 
right remedies, why should any of these things be so? 
The answer, here, would seem to be obvious. 

The origin of disease being mental we must look to 
the action of mind for its remedies. There is a pro- 
lific field here, fraught with results that will not disap- 
point the anxious sufferer. In the realm of the mind 
rests an easy remedy for everv ill of either the mind 
or the body. 

The sane reason for this is the irrefutable fact that 
the body is the active instrument of the mind and re- 
produces all of the action of the mind that relates to 
bodily life. The body has no option as to whether it 
shall so reproduce this action, but it is the silent and 
submissive reproducer of whatever the mind places 
before it or within its channels of action, whether right 
or wrong. It is as spontaneously reproductive of har- 
mony as of discord; of strength as of weakness; of 
health as of sickness; of life as of death. It has no 



168 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

choice in the matter for all of intelligence is contained 
within the mind. The mind itself, in its higher and 
more intelligent features, is vastly more responsive to 
the good than to the seeming bad ; to the right than to 
the wrong; to health than to disease; and so it will 
promptly act on every good and right influence brought 
into action by the intelligence, thus giving a most pow- 
erful alterative against the errors of sensuous thinking. 

Since the nature of disease is agitation and unrest, 
it would seem that we should look for efficient remedies 
in the mental realms of calmness, rest, contentment 
and security. And indeed these are the very conditions 
that even the most materialistic of physicians and 
nurses always seek to establish, at least outwardly, 
-and in the physical surroundings at the outset with any 
suffering patient. The long centuries which have 
elapsed in the evolution of the idea of an unfailing 
''drug cure" have not eliminated the inborn feeling that 
disease is a condition of unrest and therefore that quiet 
and repose are essential to recovery. If the disease, 
as supposed, is a veritable enemy, in itself, and the 
medicine an actual cure, why not shoot it with the drug 
at once and have done with it? Why all these side- 
issues so nonconforming to the theory of a direct drug- 
cure ? 

Every true physician knows innately that the state of 
the patient's mind has more influence in bringing 
about a recovery than anything that he can do outside 
of its modes of action. Frequently, he so states the 
case and makes his chief suggestions accordingly. This 
is an admission that the nature of the trouble is dis- 
ease and if so its origin must be mental. Only that 



THE NATURE OF DISEASE. 169 

inner conviction can open the way to such conclusions 
and inspire the giving of such advice. 

The physician may not know all of this himself, in 
his outer consciousness but his higher nature knows it 
and inspires the good advice which he imparts. The 
deeper the consciousness employed the nearer to the 
truth will we think and the closer to fact will be our 
decisions. In this rests the genuine power to heal. 

The character of disease is that of error. It is the 
final result of mistaken views, or at least of indefinite 
conclusions. It is uncertain, confusing, misleading in 
all reasoning, wrong in action. Its apparent inter- 
ference with all plans in this life gives it what we call 
a nature of evil. Its character is thus wholly evil, but 
this is a point of view rather than the essence of an ele- 
ment. Disease has no inherent qualities. It is only 
a result of action indulged or entertained by the mind 
consciously or subconsciously. Its influences are what 
we designate as evil; nevertheless there is with it no 
plan or design to produce evil. Its character, there- 
fore, must refer to its nature and must rest in its ori- 
gin, which is always some element of mental fear. Eli- 
minate this stalking monster of illusion and the rest 
will be easy. 

The true remedy is trust ; but to account for all con- 
ditions, this must be considered in its ultimate. The 
means will be found in the understanding of the funda- 
mental harmony and consequent peaceful action of 
everything actually real in the universe. Then trust 
will be comparatively easy. 

The mighty throbbings of that life which pervades 
and animates the vast whole will impart trust to the in- 



170 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

dividual soul. For the one who realizes this fact of the 
eternal life of which we are all partakers, disease can 
have no terrors. It is a delusion of the mind abiding 
in the partial and unstable conditions. Nevertheless 
"the foundation of God standeth sure." Life is self- 
subsisting, eternal and whole. He who comes to realize 
this truth, lays hold upon healthy life, and ceases to 
fear disease. 



XII 



Self - H ELP 



Chapter XII. 

SELF-HELP. 

By means of a careful examination of facts, many 
intelligent people have become convinced that the mind 
possesses power adapted to and sufficient for the help- 
ing of others, and, under the right circumstances, for 
the healing of disease. With nearly all of these in- 
vestigators some of the following questions soon rise : 

(a) Does the power to help include the power for 
self-help ? 

(b) If so, to what extent is it right or legitimate to 
use it for a self-purpose ? 

(c) What are the most efficient methods of think- 
ing for such a purpose? 

To reply intelligibly to these and similar questions, 
we must understand the principles of action involved, 
and consider well the methods that have been pur- 
sued in successful practice. 

The academic teachings of the day do not convey 
the knowledge. Nevertheless, it exists and it may be 
conveyed to those suitably prepared to receive it with 
understanding. Whenever this is accomplished, the 
healing power is readily imparted and as readily ac- 
quired. The knowledge and the power dwell together 
and are interactive. 

Whenever the knowledge is acquired, the power can 
as easily be applied for the purpose of self-help, self- 
healing and self-training, as for the benefit of others. 
The principles involved in the understanding of the 

173 



174 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

problems, and the laws of action employed in the proc- 
esses, are universal in nature and alike in character; 
therefore they apply with equal force to all individuals. 
Correct understanding and the observing of right 
methods are the requirements for success. 

These facts have become so generally accepted that 
rules for self-help are now much in demand. That 
they may be entirely reliable, such rules must rest upon 
a true metaphysical basis of thought, for this is the real 
foundation of all genuine healing power. 

With all of the healing philosophies of the ages, the 
healing thought has been based upon a realization of 
the fact that man is a spiritual being. The general 
metaphysical statement with regard to man and the 
universe, founded upon that fact is as follows: 

That which lives and is cognizant of the fact of liv- 
ing, is BEING. Each individual who possesses these 
characteristics is an entity. As an entity he is necessa- 
rily a REAL BEING. This real individual belongs to a 
Universe, in the activities of which he participates. In 
order that it may contain him, this universe, also, must 
be real in our conception of it, else the two conceptions 
would be at variance in our minds, and no true under- 
standing of the subject would prevail. 

The universe is one — a unit of reality. The idea of 
unity rests upon the conception of its wholeness. If it 
is to be thought of as a unit, therefore, the universe 
must be considered w^hole. That which is both real 
and whole must be changeless, for these conditions 
and qualities do not admit of change. Things which 
change, therefore, are not actually real. They are not 
the things of the whole and real universe. 



SELF-HELP. 175 

In the realm of spiritual reality, substance is com- 
posed of activity, instead of the apparently dense and 
inactive material of the physical realm. The ''things" 
v;rhich are real, whole and changeless, are composed 
of this absolute substance of spiritual activity, which 
lives and is both real and permanent. This activity is 
fundamental to all external or physical phenomena. 
Matter, physical bodies and material things do not 
answer to any of the requirements of Reality. They 
do not, therefore, constitute the unit of reality. 

The real universe is composed of ideas. The activity 
of its "ideas" is the substance of its "things." It is lit- 
erally an "ideal" universe, in which we all live, con- 
tinuously, and which surrounds each of us with reality, 
all of the time. Physical things and material conditions 
are a kind of reproduction of the "real," on a sensu- 
ous basis. 

All of these statements apply also to man, for he is 
a part of the universe and shares its conditions. As 
a real man he can be considered only in connection with 
a universe that is real. Attempt to think otherwise 
will result in contradictory opinions. Impartial exami- 
nation of the subject could not be conducted under 
such circumstances. 

After carefully considering these statements and 
ideas we infer that man, himself, the real offspring of 
real Being, is a spiritual entity— -the spiritual man. 
Spiritual activity is the real substance of which he is 
comiposed. He is not a victim of material conditions, 
neither is he subject to their limited phases of action. 
The illusions of matter and of sensuousness are as 
nothing when compared to the activities of spiritual 



176 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

intelligence. Man is fundamentally whole in his con- 
stitution and in all real features of his being. He is 
the soul, and the body is his instrument for physical 
action. The instrument is designed solely for use on 
this planet and is constructed entirely of the ingredients 
of the earth compounded under chemical law. It is 
suitable only for his personal use here, and mainly 
for material purjx)ses. But by right of mastery of its 
laws of being and modes of action he dominates his 
body and is never hopelessly subject, as some seem to 
believe, to its seeming conditions. These are rightly 
under his own control, and he may do with them what- 
soever he chooses, provided he goes about it in the 
right way. 

When applying thought for the purposes of healing, 
these fundamental principles of metaphysical philoso- 
phy are kept in view. The soul is considered to be the 
man, and the vital activity of spirit is viewed as the 
substance of his being. 

On this really substantial ground of philosophical 
understanding, many vital truths can be intelligently 
stated about the individual man and his being, life, 
conditions, and experiences, that could not be rightly 
conceived while reasoning from the basis of the physi- 
cal body contemplated as the real man. The difference 
in the results obtained by these two opposite modes of 
thinking is vast enough to hold the attention of the 
closest thinkers. Nearly all of the otherwise unsolv- 
able problems of life are made clear by the spiritual 
mode of reasoning ; and this develops degrees of under- 
standing that give power in all paths of life. 

These tenets of philosophy need not be argued here. 



SELF-HELP. 177 

They are merely stated In this connection, in order to 
present the legitimate grounds of a sound mental heal- 
ing system of thought that may withstand the on- 
slaughts of contrary reasonings and the changes of 
time. The system herein presented will fulfil these 
requirements. For those who desire to investigate 
further, the system and its philosophy are exhaustively 
treated, with full opportunity for the intellect to work 
out all of its usual objections, in the writer's courses of 
instruction in Metaphysical Healing. In practical work 
all of the tenets herein presented have been repeatedly 
proved. No real mental healing has ever been accom- 
plished without consciously or otherwise employing 
some form of their operative action. With a full 
understanding of these fundamentals, no one can meas- 
ure the possibilities of thought ; they are illimitable. 

If, perchance, there should seem to be danger of 
material loss by adopting such methods of reasoning 
as these, because confidence in things material has 
ibecome established as the true ground of faith, no 
alarm need be entertained, for results will soon demon- 
strate that by the new insight things vastly more im- 
portant are gained in all phases of life. Viewing the 
former possessions in the light of the new understand- 
ing, we find gain instead of loss, because now its "qual- 
ities" are recognized as well as its corporature; and 
thus the thing itself is better comprehended. The for- 
mer possession has now become a superior one because 
it is better understood ; and the new idea that has been 
gained through the higher reasoning becomes a new 
acquisition, vastly more satisfactory and effective for 
genuine progress in life. 



178 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

With this explanation we will now proceed with our 
discussion of the idea of *'self-help" as a feature in 
mental healing. 

The idea of self-help need not be confined alone to 
the matter of sickness or similar emergency. Thought 
may be shaped to avoid as well as to cure conditions 
of disturbance. It is sometimes equally imiportant, also, 
to avoid troubles of other kinds than physical illness. 
There are distempers of the mind and corruptions of 
the senses to be both cured and avoided. Each of these 
has its own distinct causative action in morbific 
thought, and for each there is a base of curative activ- 
ity. Also, there is a legitimate ground of prevention 
of future trouble, otherwise inevitable. In the matter 
of applying thought for self-help, the first important 
consideration is, the right mental attitude to hold 
toward the basis of life and being. Next, our own 
individual relation to the ''whole" and to its modes of 
action in life, must be considered. The previous expla- 
nations, when accepted (they may be accepted provis- 
ionally, for test purposes), will settle the difficulty in 
that line, and supply to each thinker a basis of fact in 
spiritual being and existence for himself, from which 
to operate in his thinking processes. Then the reason- 
ing powers may be developed in such a way as to give 
the best practical use of all the faculties. Difficulties 
that otherwise would seem insurmountable may then be 
easily overcome. 

Remember, always, that you are real being com- 
fK>sed of spiritual activity. That you have a body 
which is your instrument for physical action, and a 
mind which is your instrument for mental action. 



SELF-HELP. 179 

When you would move in a certain direction for a 
definite purpose, remember that it is you who are to 
influence your mind, not your mind that is to dictate to 
you. Also, if it is a bodily condition that you pro- 
pose to change, yo^t are to guide and direct your mind 
and your body, not vice versa. This is fundamental to 
operative action and is most important. 

In beginning your thought-processes, recognize 
yourself as an actual spiritual entity, composed of 
reality and possessing genuine intelligence. Both of 
these must necessarily be considered spiritual, because 
it would be impossible to construct either of them from 
matter that occupies space and has weight and meas- 
urement. You, yourself, are spiritual being and you 
include in your constitution the intelligence of individ- 
ual being. Therefore you can understand as well as 
think. View yourself from this standpoint, and your 
estimate of your own qualities and powers will take 
higher ground. 

Contemplating oneself as a spiritual being, that is, 
as an individual composed of spiritual activity and illu- 
mination instead of material stagnation or physical 
density, gives a degree of power in solving problems 
and controlling circumstances that at first sight is diffi- 
cult to comprehend. The individual who rightly con- 
templates his own self-hood and that of others in this 
manner, has every battle in life half fought and is 
ready for the victory which later may be gained with 
little effort. 

Those who persist in believing, against the higher 
evidence, that the material body is the real man — ^the 
actual object of creation ; and that physical things alone 



180 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

constitute the real Universe — the work and the home 
of the Almighty, can only exercise an imperfect mode 
of thinking, and a limited influence over others. They 
possess no genuine healing power. 

But the higher mode of thinking, which is based 
upon and proceeds according to real principles of life, 
develops the real power of thought which heals all 
manner of sickness. And although the nature of the 
thinking employed is quite different from that indulged 
under the ordinary views of life and the universe, it is 
not impossible; neither is it especially difficult. Place 
the senses under subjection to reason, and allow the 
will to yield to intelligence. Then the way is easy. The 
purity and force of spiritual understanding render 
right judgment possible and make every seeming task a 
pleasure. Having once gained this elevated state of 
understanding none ever turn from it. This fact points 
to its foundation in Reality. 

In any event, whatever the argument maintained, 
you, in your being, are spiritual reality. It is im- 
possible that you should be anything short of that, and 
have being at all. All the problems of your life, there- 
fore, turn upon the point of spiritual activity, which is 
the fundamental reality of all being. Whatever the 
vital question before you for consideration, give it that 
test. Is the thing, idea or condition based upon a 
spiritual fact in life? If so, it will endure and will 
eventually result in benefit to you, regardless of present 
appearances. If not, it can be assailed from the basis 
of the reality of your own being and the spiritual na- 
ture of all things that are real. 

Now consider the wholeness of Reality. All real- 



SELF-HELP. 181 

ITY IS ONE WHOLE. This ONE is indivisible and conse- 
quently indestructible. Else it is not real; if not, 
there is no "Reality" in the universe. All seeming 
things that do not stand this test are not of the real 
universe and cannot rule in anything. Deal with them 
accordingly. 

In the presence of impending danger, note the na- 
ture of the supposed source of the danger, and judge 
it accordingly. Consider your own real nature and 
compare your actual powers with the seeming or sup- 
posed powers of the illusion that first aroused your 
fears. Then adjust your thinking along the lines of 
the facts disclosed by this comparison. Few errors 
can stand the onslaught of such intelligent realization. 
The more closely you adhere to the idea of the pure 
spirituality of all things that are real, the more prompt 
and efficient will be the response to your thinking. 

The above described rule for thinking can be effect- 
ively applied to every variety of action in human life. 
Success in its use will depend upon the degree of real- 
ization of the actual truth about conditions existing in 
the universe. 

The actual wholeness and innate spirituality of the 
unit of Reality, which is the unit of Being, is the fun- 
damental tenet of philosophy here. The intelligent 
comprehension of this wholeness, on our part, is the 
true foundation of the thought that saves from trouble 
and its consequences in this life. Refuse to make real, 
in your mentality, the inharmonious, unsound, trouble- 
some or destructive objects and features of personal 
life. The Infinite Intelligence never made or estab- 
lished any one of them. Put their logical opposites in 



182 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

their places. Then you can use the thoughts for good 
purpose. 

This line of thinking will be equally as valuable for 
yourself as for others. The rules may be applied with 
success to the helping of any one in any condition and 
under any circumstances. They will prevail to the full 
extent of your conscious realisation of the ideas which 
you hold. Always view the one whom you would help 
— whether yourself or another — as the pure and perfect 
product of the activity of the Divine Reality. That is 
your model. The rest of the necessary thinking about 
the case becomes comparatively easy. Even though 
the combined action of all of your five senses fails to 
disclose such a fact existing in your life ; and the per- 
sonal phase of your mind denies it and refuses to voice 
the seemingly false statement, remember that you speak 
from the standpoint of soul-life and are giving voice 
to the truths of the spiritual nature. Hold to the facts 
of spiritual reality, and you will obtain convincement 
of the truth of the statements made. This will be the 
most likely to come through the eventual subjugation 
of the sensuous mind and the body. Both of these will 
eventually respond and bend their seeming energies to 
the reproducing, each on its own plane, of its limited 
share of this grand truth with regard to external life. 

Think "wholeness," thoroughly, and you will feel its 
response in the soundness of health. Think "life," con- 
tinuously, and you will find every faculty perpetually 
busy with the duplicating of that vitalizing idea. It is 
the truth, absolute and unvarying ; and all nature loves 
the truth in any form of expression. 

Train your mind continually to the thinking of the 



SELF-HELP. 183 

real element inherent with each thing or subject with 
which you have to deal, and so discipline your thinking 
that your mind will spontaneously deny the notion of 
reality in sense-action, and all the lower modes of action 
in life will soon fall in line and gladly obey the man- 
dates of Intelligence — the master influence in human 
life. Then you will possess the healing power, and 
every thought that you formulate will carry a healing 
balm to all in need with whom you come in contact. 

In all cases of suffering such thought as this will 
help greatly. It will work a complete cure except in 
those cases where specific images of definite fears 
have become lodged in the subconscious mentality. 
These conditions may require special treatment de- 
signed to disseminate the particular illusions of per- 
sonal experience which caused them. 

The experienced expert can of course do more 
prompt and efficient work here than the novice is yet 
prepared for, but with the principles established in the 
understanding the rest of the required process is soon 
acquired. The principles are universal and the rules 
apply to all circumstances, for all individuals, alike; 
and much may be accomplished by any individual on 
the ground of the general principles, which are per- 
petually true and always active. 

Learn to rightly spin the threads of truth for your- 
self ; then you may weave them into the garment of 
self-protection, wearing which nothing can successfully 
assail you. The same principle applies as regards self- 
help in any direction. 

Exercised in this manner the intended self-help be- 
comes at the same time an equal help for others; and 



184 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

effort to help those in need reflects its light back into 
our own being, thus becoming a most powerful self- 
help. ''Whosoever will lose his life for my sake 
shall find it" is a profound philosophical statement of 
truth, as regards the reproductive action of the realiza- 
tion of truth. 

Whatever the mind repeats continuously or fre- 
quently, becomes established eventually as a mode of 
action with that mind. Through the relation existing 
between nerve-action and mentality this action will 
eventually be repeated in the physical mechanism. 

With psychologists the fact is well established that 
the predominance of one idea or a definite and limited 
train of ideas will act as a "stand-ofif" to or a protec- 
tion from ideas of a radically different order. This, 
then, suggests a mode of self-protection accessible to 
all. It is a definite law of mentality that opposites 

CANNOT DWELL TOGETHER. 

In obedience to this law you should always occupy 
your mind with the ideas that stand for those entities 
which you need in life, and therefore rightly desire. 
Then the troublesome or harmful influences will pass 
you by because their ideas find no lodgment with you. 
This is a self-protection of the highest order. 

The holding of the right idea and exercising thought- 
activity along its lines of understanding, is a self-help 
beyond compare. Whatever you would have as a 
self-help, fix the real idea of it in your mind as the 
object of your thinking, and hold to it under all cir- 
cumstances. Refuse to allow the different thought- 
action or influence to enter or remain operative with 
your mentality, and you will be able to generate within 



SELF-HELP. 185 

yourself full help for any emergency and protection 
from all harm. It also enables you to see more clearly 
what course to pursue, and thus renders the most valu- 
able aid in time of difficulty. 

There are numberless ways of applying these prin- 
ciples of thinking, for the purpose of self-help. With 
the principles of the action firmly held in mind, each 
one will find the right application of the mental forces 
to his own particular requirements. 

Always remember that you are the absolute master 
of the external affairs of life, and that whatever is right 
to do, you can do. Then you are fitted either for 
aggressive action when such is right and required, or 
for the more real and enduring realization of the right, 
and yielding to its harmonious influences. This is the 
highest self -protection known. 

He who would govern others must first conquer 
himself — ^through knowledge of himself; and the only 
true self-knowledge rests in the knowledge of being. 



XIII 

Remedies 



Chapter XIII. 
REMEDIES. 

When we are ill upon what may we safely rely for 
a remedy? This is a question everywhere asked. At 
this time, when sickness in so many of its forms seems 
ahnost hopeless, there are few questions more vitally 
important. The enigma of the sphinx was not more 
difficult of solution. 

So much has already been written about remedies 
for disease, and by such worthy savants, that there 
may hardly appear to be good reason for saying 
more upon the subject at the present time. Neverthe- 
less, at the time of urgent demand, a thoroughly reli- 
able remedy for even the simpler form of malady is 
seldom in evidence. Lotions, tonics, pills, powders 
and potions almost without number have been offered 
for centuries; and the number constantly increases, 
while each new-comer is extolled above its predeces- 
sors as being the most reliable specific, or the sovereign 
remedy. But the grieving heart still grieves ; the aching 
head still blinds and bewilders ; the tortured mind still 
registers its agony in nerve and in organic structure, 
till hopelessness is wrought upon every feature. Then 
the judgment "worthless" is mentally stamped upon 
each empty box and bottle from the laboratory of 
physical science. At the best, these means of cure (so- 
called) only relieve temporarily; and often the sup- 
posed "remedy" is a greater evil than the disease for 
which it was prescribed. 

Material remedies have failed in time of need too 

189 



190 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

often to be granted our entire confidence. They still 
continue to fail, regardless of the fact that the fullest 
measure of confidence and faith has been yielded at 
their shrine for ages. Why this deplorable result? If 
the theory of "a drug for an ache" be correct, why is 
not a true and reliable remedy found by some one of 
the numberless believing and faithful disciples of the* 
system? This question goes forth earnestly, in re- 
peated measure, but it always returns upon itself an 
empty echo. An answer that really replies is never 
heard. 

If the theory of '^dissimilia dissimilibus curantur," 
which prevailed so many centuries before Hahnemann, 
was ever the true law of cure, how comes it that the 
hypothesis of Hahnemann, of ''similia similibus curan- 
tuYj" so entirely contradictory, should have become 
necessary, or that it should prove itself so redoubtable 
a competitor in the contest for honors in the field of 
the healing art? And now, with both these modes of 
treatment before the public, each with such an array 
of earnest and honorable representatives in practice, 
why is it that the numerous forms of disease are as 
rampant as ever, and that the suffering still continues 
in forms as excruciating as ever, with a death-rate 
equally high, and in some localities, thoroughly doc- 
tored, higher than ever before? Still the reply is but 
an empty echo passing into nothingness and yielding 
no information. The "why" revolving in hopeless cir- 
cles of inquiry is all that remains. 

The answer to these momentous questions will never 
be found in a bottle. Disease, in itself, is mental and 
it cannot be directly medicated. With the poison that 



REMEDIES. 191 

paralyzes but never animates, neither school, however 
extensive its pharmacopoeia, can directly reach it. The 
peculiar influence which they may be able to produce 
upon the mind, is the only power, really curative, that 
either school possesses to-day. No particle of life can 
be found within any drug. How, then, may be expect 
to evolve life from it, or regenerate life by means of it? 
And how shall the true remedy be accounted for by 
the qualities of the drug? 

Disease itself being mental and its causes mental, is 
it at all unreasonable to expect that its right remedy 
must also be mental? The activities of the mind are 
based upon spiritual activities'. The life, itself, is spir- 
itual, always. It never could be less than spiritual. 
The true life-giver, therefore, must be a spiritual sub- 
stance or essence. In every time of need this must be 
searched for among the spiritual activities of the mind. 
Sickness invariably is mental. "No mind, no sickness," 
is an invariable rule amounting to law. Having become 
established within the mind, the remedy for sickness, 
to be effective, much be evolved from the activities of 
the mind. 

This would appear to be the kind of theory on which 
an adequate and reliable system of cure must rest. It 
relates wholly to natural law operative within the real 
being of man. It is difficult to understand how any 
objection could honestly be raised against it as a work- 
ing hypothesis, for it ranges closer to man's own 
powers for self-help and consequent security in per- 
sonal life than any other plan of cure yet devised. 

In adjusting the reasoning faculties to such a theory, 
the main point is to be able to comprehend and account 



.192 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

for the different kinds of sickness which appear to 
exist, in their relations to the nature of the mind ; for 
in its ordinary activity the mind does not seem to vary 
so much as those abnormities suggest. In this con- 
nection it is important to understand properly and 
sufficiently the relation that may exist between a seem- 
ingly physical disease and a mental causative action or 
condition. Such relations exist in every case and they 
can be intelligently studied till a complete correspond- 
ence appears between the true mental cause of disturb- 
ance and its direct physical effect in the corporeal struc- 
ture. The proper mental remedy for one physical con- 
dition may be quite different in its action from that 
required to reach another. 

By understanding the natural laws of correspondence 
between the mental and the physical conditions, we 
may trace relations correctly and determine the actu- 
ally existing causes of each bodily condition. For 
example: If the trouble is with the brain, the cause 
may be found in that realm of the mind which has to 
do with the thinking processes ; for most people gener- 
ally suppose that they think with the brain, therefore 
the mind easily relates the brain-tissue and' thought- 
action. The trouble may trace to the notion of over- 
work in thinking; or mental excitement about some 
transaction; or continued strain because of anxiety; 
or fear of loss or of injury. Each of these mental 
states will produce a similar yet somewhat different 
mode of action and will develop a correspondingly 
different degree of disturbance either nervous or or- 
ganic. It usually begins with nervous symptoms, 
finally developing to an organic state of disease. 



REMEDIES. 193 

In cases of this character, the proper remedy will 
consist first of a negative action of thought, as regards 
the erroneous opinion that has been entertained. This 
is for the purpose of clearing away obstructions to 
the necessary right thinking. Next, the establishing of 
the opposite idea (that which must be right because 
the other is wrong) and rightly thinking its activities 
until its health, strength, energy, power and life have 
been fully stated to the mind. Such a course, properly 
carried into operation, will meet every requirement. 
Long-continued experience has proved this to be a fact. 

The particular mode of mentality that has been in- 
volved in the establishing of the special condition of 
bodily illness and disorder, must be met and treated 
with the definite form or kind of thought-action that 
will checkmate and off-set it. Then the right thought 
for permanent health may be implanted and thoroughly 
established. No disease can long withstand such in- 
fluence as this. The healing power of genuine ideas, 
thus rightly applied with definite purpose, is irresistible. 

These modes of thinking are real remedies. They 
all are based upon real ideas. They are, therefore, uni- 
versal in their operation, entirely reliable and certain 
of never doing harm under any circumstances. Who- 
ever knows the procedures and can accordingly direct 
the thinking, can work the required changes and pro- 
duce the corresponding results. 

These results are available for all individuals, of any 
nationality, creed or calling. The language employed 
in the thinking-processes, is the picturing or imaging 
of thoughts and ideas. This constitutes a universal 
reproduction of ideas, and often extends to a deep sym- 



,194 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

bolizing of ideas that contains great powers of subcon- 
scious information, common to the intelligence of all 
human beings. No oral word or sound need be em- 
ployed. The mind perceives ideas through their corre- 
sponding mental pictures; and it often gains a deeper 
understanding of them by means of symbology, which 
represents ideas in certain states of action that define 
both meanings and uses. Clear thinking with regard to 
the idea will result in a keen image that will render 
mental communication with the other mind easy and 
complete. The laws are open to all, and are available 
according to the exercise and use of the higher or real 
will in union with the understanding. 

Thus there are none excluded from participation in 
this beneficent work. Metaphysical science, with its 
methods and procedures, is universal in its range and 
application to the conditions of human life. In its heal- 
ing philosophy all are viewed as a unit of being. This 
universal one — ^this Maximus Homo or "Grand Man" 
is fundamentally whole, and as regards essential mat- 
ters is necessarily entire and perfect. 

In the metaphysical system of healing, therefore, the 
problem* of "Remedies" consists in the restoring of 
man's diverging thoughts to the original wholeness 
of a right understanding of real being and life ; elimi- 
nating, meanwhile, all misleading and undermining 
influences that may be present, of error, disturbance 
and fear. 

These restorative processes are genuine remedies 
such as the world needs. Rightly applied and received 
they are certain to effect satisfactory results in healing ; 
for genuine principles, being themselves always good, 



REMEDIES. 195 

intelligent applying of them can only result in good. 
They are remedies, from their inception ; and they were 
established as such with the creating and building of 
the mind of man. They are neither new nor old, but 
they are permanent and, therefore, both real and true. 
They have existed, in the fact of their necessity in life, 
since time began. The eternal tree of Knowledge, of 
which they are the fruit, is never bare and the fruits 
are always within the reach of intelligence. 

These principles are considered just now as the 
active force of mental remedies, because this discourse 
is an investigation of the means of healing. Never- 
theless their scope is far more profound, for they per- 
tain to the pure spiritual nature and qualities of man 
himself, in his real essence. Lacking this base of the 
eternal relation, the profounder elements of character, 
that pertain to remedies, would be wanting and reme- 
dial thought would have only a limited and temporary 
influence. 

In its real nature the mind is spiritual, and all of its 
real healing powers are spiritual in their essence. Those 
operations of the mind which produce diseased condi- 
tions in any of the functions of the body, are all based 
upon the lower or animal propensities and are influ- 
enced solely by the senses. But those which produce 
the healing results, are of the soul and are like it in 
character. They bring the higher reasoning and intui- 
tive faculties to bear upon the subject, on the plane of 
bodily conditions. 

When it is indulged in its own dream' of seeming 
self-hood', the sensuous nature devises modes of action 
which are verv sure to result in un-rest and disease. 



196 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

These negative conditions in some degree attend in- 
variably all over-confidence in sense-action. But the 
real man, knowing the facts of actual being and realiz- 
ing the truth about life, acts as the true healer, and, 
whatever the phases of disturbance, restores the bodily- 
condition to a state of harmony. The remedy, itself, 
consists in the right thinking, by which the proper ac- 
tion of the various functions is restored. The pure 
action of real life is the essence of the remedy. It is 
truth operating with understanding within the mind. 
Is there a remedy superior to truth? 

The knowledge possessed by the soul, and realized 
by the mind in various departments of activity, em- 
bodies itself in the deep conviction which is rightly 
named *'faith." Thus Faith becomes a remedial agency 
— one of no mean proportions. Indeed, when it is 
based upon an understanding sufficient to apprehend 
the full force of the activities of being, faith is the 
greatest of remedies. Such faith will accomplish any- 
thing possible in lawful activity — even what the world- 
ly eye sees as miracles ; because it rouses into activity 
the real though latent powers of the mind, and these 
guide, direct and control external action and conditions. 
When it is rightly aroused and is exercised with full 
understanding, then even mountains of seeming diffi- 
culty vanish from view, leaving not even a mist of 
remembrance to worry the mind and heart. To faith 
like this, disease is literally nothing. 

The moment that faith really arises within the soul- 
mind, it pervades the consciousness and disease dis- 
appears. Indeed, when faith actually has become estab- 
lished, the disease has already vanished. The two 



REMEDIES. 197 

Operations are practically simultaneous. The Roman 
centurion expressed such faith as this when he de- 
clared to the Master: "Speak the word, only, and my 
servant shall be healed," and we are told that "his 
servant was healed in the selfsame hour." — Matt, viii : 
8-13. The same thing, differing only in degree, occurs 
occasionally to-day. But it is now the custom to pass 
it as a ''mere coincidence" or to attribute it to the oper- 
ation of some minor law. To produce these results, 
however, the faith exercised must be implicit and abso- 
lute. The quasi faith of a half-doubting hope will not 
effect these perfect results. 

Another valuable remedy, though not always recog- 
nized as such, is Confidence. This is an element of 
faith ; but it holds a place somewhat distinct in personal 
life, where it relates to the routine dealings of man with 
man, and likewise with the race as a whole. The uni- 
verse is whole and each part is a factor in that whole- 
ness. Each one belongs to the whole and shares its 
substantialness. In proportion, therefore, as he recog- 
nizes his oneness with the united all of the plane on 
which he lives, and functions in consciousness, does he 
have confidence in its laws and realize their power as 
the vitality of his own being. In the fulness of inspir- 
ational thought this cognition evolves pure faith. 

In the individual application of thought to life here, 
exercise of the higher elements of reason will estab- 
lish confidence — the "faith" of the individual mind. 
The individual who has no confidence in any one or in 
anything, is sick at heart for the very want of it. He 
is certain to diffuse a sickly aura and to exhibit the un- 
wholesome fruits in ill health of body, mind or soul; 



198 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

and more likely in all of them, for all are involved. 

The absence of confidence in others weakens confi- 
dence in one's own self. Lacking this, the individual 
will fail to employ the forces which rightly belong to 
him. The negative state of mind reacts upon himself 
through the picturing mentally of negative action and 
its barren results. As a consequence of not availing 
himself of his real inheritance, he is open to the influ- 
ence of those erroneous thoughts w^hich generate the 
illusions of sickness and disease. He sows the hollow 
seeds of illusion and waters them with the tears of 
pessimism, until his perverted imagination peoples his 
little world with the images of his narrow thoughts. 
These he supposes to be the crop of circumstances that 
are beyond his control. 

All this proceeds from a lack of confidence, and as 
such it tends toward low conditions of health that 
develop into sickness. It is a prolific cause of disease, 
at least in its milder forms. The remedy, in such cases, 
is confidence; courage; anticipation of what is natural 
in life; trust in the forces which are active for good 
in the universe, and co-operation with them in the 
acts of daily life. Such confidence as this is never 
misplaced, even though seeming losses ensue on the 
material plane. The energy and power thus developed 
through genuine confidence, and the spiritual treasure 
of virtue acquired for use in future experience, repays 
a thousand times any seeming loss on a lower plane 
of action. 

The confident man is practically a man in health. 
The negative conditions which produce and character- 
ize disease cannot enter his mind. This statement, of 



REMEDIES. 199 

course, presupposes the correct imaging of those ideas 
which relate to actual life. Confidence in the law's 
forces and powers of real being, always makes for 
health. 

True confidence is an innate quality of the spiritual 
nature — a function of the soul. In the mental life it is 
a grand sustainer and its powers can hardly be over- 
estimated. It was the endowment of the Stoic and it is 
the inspiration of similarly developed minds to-day. 
It has enabled vast numbers to pass unscathed through 
the most violent epidemics of disease, in all of which 
more die because of fear than from any direct attack 
of the disease itself. It has also proved to be of price- 
less value in encounters with other of the trials of 
life. Its positive activity overrules the negative char- 
acter of disease; and, when thoroughly analyzed, dis- 
ease always shows a negative character. Confidence, 
therefore, it will be readily seen, is one of the most 
powerful of remedies for sickness and disease. 

Still another powerful element of the mind and effi- 
cient remedy for nearly all the maladies of personal 
life, is Contentment. The virtues of contentment have 
been sung by the poet and praised by the philosopher 
for ages. It is doubtful, however, whether the full 
value of this peaceful state of mind, as a health-giver 
and conserver of the forces of life, is justly appreciated. 
The individual who is contented in mind, is at rest; 
at ease ; and in peace. In ease there is no distress and 
in contentment there is no unrest. The birth of con- 
tentment is the death of disease. This will hold true 
as regards most of its forms, perhaps all of them. 

One who is contented with his lot finds happiness in 



200 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

every experience. And here is disclosed another potent 
remedy of the same category, namely: Happiness. 
As a remedy for sickness happiness is a veritable life- 
giver. But by the term happiness we do not mean 
here that morbid sentiment which is based upon desires 
that demand incessantly that certain wants shall be 
fully satisfied. The fulfilling of selfish desires may 
produce delight for the time, but this is far remote 
from real happiness. The notion that happiness con- 
sists in or depends upon such fulfilment is a mistaken 
one. We frequently observe the supposed happiness 
changing to disappointment, and even bitterness, when 
some particular wish is not gratified. Then there is 
often presented a wretched spectacle of unhappiness 
with its accompanying results. 

Real happiness, that which gives health and whole- 
ness of life, is never attained through the gratifying 
of desires; because, when one want is met another is 
certain to appear in its place. This state of affairs is 
sure to continue till all resources are exhausted, and 
only dissatisfaction remains to utter its voice. Indeed, 
personal desire engenders conditions of disease oftener 
than any other mental influence — if, indeed, it be not 
the sole cause of disease, which seems fully possible. 

Happiness, as rightly defined and understood, is 
based upon the perception of the real, and cognition 
of its continual presence, together with recognition of 
the fact of our own participation in its nature and qual- 
ity. In this kind of realization there is content always 
present, and thus happiness has its source and origin. 
Such happiness is genuine, because it is based upon a 
consciousness of possession, which always accompanies 



REMEDIES. 201 

such realization, rather than upon the emptiness of 
gratified desire, which only goads with the sense of 
personal want. 

Want is a vacant sense, and desire follows it, in- 
evitably. There are always more desires just ahead 
of gratification, and this condition effectually closes 
the door to happiness. Desire and happiness can 
never occupy together. The presence of either is fatal 
to the other. By learning to desire less, therefore, even 
of those things which are necessary to comfort and 
existence, health-giving happiness is sure to become 
a more frequent visitor. Besides, when the uneasiness 
of desire is absent, the things really necessary can be 
l>etter defined and are more likely to come. The sense 
of want agitates the mental atmosphere and tends to 
keep them away. But when anxiety has ceased, the 
subtile laws of the subconscious regions of the mind 
are able to perform their functions more readily. In 
families where happiness is predominant, physicians 
have little to do. Drug-medicines and happiness are 
never found together. Happiness is its own medicine. 
From its effects there is no reaction, and it breeds 
no desire for more or for other kinds. 

Cheerfulness, also, always suggests and prompts us 
to the realizing of health. When contentment is in the 
company of cheerfulness Happiness is certain to come 
to tea. For all those ills which develop from gloomy 
moody or disconsolate tendencies of the mind, cheer- 
fulness is a sovereign remedy. By cultivating its 
vitalizing influences, buoyancy and vivacity will soon 
take the place of the heaviness and lassitude that al- 
ways indicate lingering phases of disorder. 



202 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

One of the most wholesome and also most powerful 
agencies to be introduced and maintained in the sick- 
room, therefore, is Cheerfulness. Where it is excluded, 
few cases are successful. Most cases make slow prog- 
ress and are doubtful as regards results until it be- 
comes established. 

Cheerfulness on the mental plane and sunshine on 
the physical are powerful allies for health of both 
mind and body. When the two are combined, con- 
tentment and happiness soon join the party. Then 
health becomes a life-tenant in that home, for the 
forces thus combined soon displace the medical man. 
Under these conditions purity of mind and of thought 
develop spontaneously. 

The ultimate result of a harmonious combining of 
all these trustful elements, is peace — ^that ineffable con- 
tentment that springs spontaneously from the right 
realization of truth. Rightly considering these ideas, 
therefore, it will readily be seen that purity, trust and 
peace are also legitimate remedies, each in its place and 
in its own mode of action. When rightly exercised as 
states of mind, their influence is always healthful. As 
remedies for those states of mind and conditions of 
life that oppose them, they exhibit great power. With 
these in active possession the mind is always fortified ; 
but without them many forms of trouble become ram- 
pant. The elements of all of these factors of thought- 
activity combine in a realization of the activity of Truth 
itself, which is the fundamental element of all healing 
processes. 

Another important remedy, as regards both the avoid- 
ing and the curing of many forms of sickness and dis- 



REMEDIES. 203 

ease, is Temperance. By this term we do not mean 
simply abstaining from the use of material substances 
or ingredients, such, for example, as alcoholic bever- 
ages. The word has a broader meaning that comes 
nearer to what is required for this illustration. Its 
philosophic signification includes self-control, equi- 
poise, equilibrium, equality in judgment and modera- 
tion in action; in a word: Justice. Such temperance 
as this includes all the appetites, as well as all forms 
and phases of action, on both the physical and the men- 
tal planes. It means moderation in all things usieful 
and necessary in life. Disease is not necessary. It is al- 
ways abnormal. It is a deviation from orderly life. 
In every form and feature it is the result of some 
overdoing of one or more of the normal functions of 
life. It represents intemperate action. In forms where 
the tendency is received from other minds, its impelling 
influence may be found on the sensuous, mental, 
moral or even the psychic plane. 

The first requirement for healing is the restoring of 
the equilibrium lost through mal-adjustment. At the 
very beginning of the attempt at restoration, the point 
of departure from the normal condition must be ascer- 
tained, and a just temperance of action in all directions 
must be established anew. This course of procedure, 
properly followed out, will result in the discovery of 
the specific cause of the disturbed conditions, and this 
will make possible the eventual working of a com- 
plete cure. 

The temperate course, which looks equally in all 
directions, and enables the operator to employ, prop- 
erly, all the facilities that are within his reach through 



204 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

his knowing of the various laws involved, is far better 
than any spasmodic action prompted by desire, or a re- 
stricted action directed by emotion. Beliefs founded 
upon a lack of understanding, otherwise called igno- 
rance, often lack either of these undesirable forms of 
procedure. Every emotional action is followed by a 
reaction in which the individual suffers the corre- 
sponding penalty. Temperate action debars emotion 
and therefore is more reliable. At the same time it 
builds and sustains health. Hence, for all unbalanced 
conditions in life it is one of the most practical of rem- 
edies and always thoroughly reliable. It is the gateway 
of Contentment, in the path that leads to the temple 
and home of Happiness — the goddess of health. 

True remedies must of necessity be of purer nature 
and higher in character and quality than the condi- 
tions from which they are to extricate us; otherwise 
logic and sound reasoning can have no place in the 
understanding. What, then, shall we say of drugs, 
consisting as they do of coarse mineral products and 
vegetable matter of the lower order? They all are be- 
hind man in his progress and beneath him in his de- 
velopment ; and all of them are incompatible with the 
life-organisms of his physical system. Can that ele- 
vate, which is beneath, either in character or in power? 
Can that still help and save, which has been outgrown 
and left behind ? Can that cure, which is incompatible 
with life and health? Rather, will not these obsolete 
agents be to the sufferer like millstones about his 
neck, dragging him to their own lower depths? Con- 
sider the ultimate and inevitable reply to these ques- 
tions. These pernicious results are the inevitable con- 



JREMEDIES. 205 

sequence of depending upon poison drugs in any form. 

As regards alcohol there is difference of opinion 
about the evil or good attendant upon its use. This 
fact makes it hard for some to form a conclusion. 
There are cases on record in which alcoholic drinks 
have been used continously as a beverage during the 
entire period of life, and yet the individual attained 
the so-called' 'ripe age" of ''a hundred and something" in 
years; attributing meanwhile the apparently increased 
term of life to the particular beverage employed. Oth- 
ers have abstained entirely, and just as logically attri- 
bute their equally long life to that fact. Again, the 
early death or break-down of some is laid at the door 
of ''King Alcohol." 

As a matter of fact some morbid mental state that 
prompts the victim to seek a stimulant in order to over- 
come nervousness, may be the factor that injures or 
kills before the time, rather than the alcohol itself. 
The drug may either hasten or retard the matter ac- 
cording to circumstances; but the mental disturbance 
of the nervous system will produce its own result. 
Many such cases have been found and rescued. This 
likewise may be said of any drug, other than those 
which are so entirely foreign and incompatible that the 
man himself cannot tolerate their presence at all and 
so deserts incontinently the body in which they have 
been forcibly introduced. This happens every day. 

The majority of habitual drinkers use the drug for 
a stimulant, to change disagreeable feelings, or to over- 
come temporarily some weak point of functional action. 
These conditions frequently are the results of over- 
strained desire, in some of the ways incident to the 



206 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

abnormal life which we lead in this rapid age. These 
false conditions lead to the overindulgence which so 
often results disastrously. 

The drug may seem to relieve and help because 
a change of action follows its use. But it only de- 
grades — it cannot uplift. The mental principle of 
action is always more powerful than the physical na- 
ture; and, as in these cases the cause is mental, the 
true remedy must also be mental. The mind may and 
should be so governed that no drug, either stimulant or 
sedative, will be called for, because (a) they are not 
needed, and (b) no confidence is placed in them. They 
all are worthless to man, either as aids to action, or as 
supposed remedies. There are better ways to produce 
any of the changes required. Indeed, they are not 
remedies at all. They cause the mind to readjust its 
modes of action to a lower level ; and the last state is 
inevitably worse than the first. 

There are, however, real remedies for all abnormal 
conditions; and these will always prove to be higher, 
purer, and more refined in all ways, than the condi- 
tions for the cure of which they are employed, and 
vastly more so than any drug in the category. They 
establish their own character with every change that 
they effect. On these remedies we may always rely 
for support and for strength. The line of actual rem- 
edies referred to here, includes all of the higher modes 
and forms of mental activity, and the processes of 
thinking which rest upon principles as foundations in 
spiritual reality. In all cases the activity of the "prin- 
cipled* is the force which heals. 

In any particular instance of suffering, the right 



REMEDIES. 207 

remedy to be applied is whatever realization in the 
direction of wholeness may be specifically required to 
lift the individual sufferer out of and above the particu- 
lar environment and surroundings of error in which 
he has become engulfed. Elevating the mind will puri- 
fy the body. In the subject of human life the terms 
"purity" and "health" are almost synonymous. The 
corresponding ideas are entirely so. The "pure in 
heart" and the "peacemakers" have always been allot- 
ted the highest places in the scheme of life both here 
and hereafter. The godliness of purity cannot be 
denied. None of these qualities are contained in any 
drug. Their very presence would destroy all "drug" 
nature and render the ingredient inoperative. The 
drug contains no fundamental goodness and the 
concept of something from nothing is an empty 
proposition. 

The limited number of this sort of remedies that can 
be mentioned here, may serve as a suggestion of the 
lines of activity in which remedies exist and may be 
found. Any reader may extend* the list almost indefi- 
nitely. The entire gamut of thought about the veri- 
ties of the universe and of life, impels to the cognition 
of wholeness in the nature of man and the realization 
of its value and importance. This is the true healing 
elixir. It has its root within the understanding. In 
the idea "wholeness" rests the fundamental health of 
man. The individual must find it here. 

The right remedy for any unwholesome condition is 
always contained in an element more elevated in nature 
and character than the condition itself. Nothing less 
can uplift to restore real conditions, or cure the victim 



208 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

of illusion. Health proceeds only from living activity. 
This is to be found within the realities of being and at 
the apex of understanding rather than in the outer and 
lower features of personal and animal life. 

A true remedy always uplifts the sufferer and places 
him on higher ground. Truth is the utmost reality. 



XIV 
Man, Nature and Health 



Chapter XIV. 
MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 

The nature of Man, the qualities of Nature, and the 
character of Health, when considered in their true rela- 
tion to each other, are subjects worthy of our best 
thinking. The wisdom of harmonizing, in our under- 
standing, all ideas entertained with regard to these 
elements of being, may not at first be apparent. Never- 
theless, this is essential to real progress with the prob- 
lem during future studies. 

Probably all will admit the truth of the statement 
that man, nature and health bear a close relationship 
in the lives of individuals. How to find the keynote of 
their harmony, and establish its tonality in the active 
operations of daily life, both useful and enjoyable, 
seems to be the main problem in dealing with the 
subject. 

In order that relationships may be properly esti- 
mated, it is important to understand the real nature 
and the true character of each factor in the combina- 
tion. True scientists know this fact, and at the outset 
of research on any subject they strive to gain such 
information. The general thinker, however, appears 
to underrate the necessity for such close observation. 
This fact may have some bearing upon the many in- 
complete theories that are met with in the world of 
thought, especially about the intricate conditions of 
human life in a world of almost infinite variety. It is 

211 



213 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

impossible to comprehend any subject of wholeness or 
any entity as a whole, unless all of its parts or factors 
are rightly understood. 

The first factor in the present problem is ]\Ian. The 
study of man comprises a multitude of details in our 
thinking, the most of which are deep and far-reaching. 
Foremost among the conceptions necessary to the un- 
derstanding of man and his nature, is the fact that in 
his entirety he himself is real being. In his individ- 
uality there is an indivisible wholeness of life that man- 
ifests deity — the original conception of primal being. 
As the legitimate and real manifestation of this funda- 
mental reality, man holds high estate among entities, 
and possesses qualities so sublime that unless we ob- 
serve closely and judge wisely we may pass them with- 
out full recognition, even without any consciousness 
of their presence. 

This conception of man is a lofty one, but philo- 
sophical study of his nature shows it to be true. It is, 
therefore, essential to a proper study of the subject. 
It constitutes the foundation on which all the facts of 
future demonstrations may rest, in erecting the edifice 
of our understanding of man as the divine embodiment 
of the truths of being, life and reality. In this com- 
prehension we may recognize his real qualities and 
powers, and so be enabled to study his nature and his 
m.ethods in life. 

In his manifesting expression of the laws of being, 
man is a living realit}\ That he lives, the merest tyro 
obser^^es and acknowledges. But that he is actually 
real, according to the full and right interpretation of 
the conception of reality, some afifect to doubt. Or, 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 213 

rather, their conception of man appears to fall short 
of their recognition of reahty as embodied in the whole. 
Nevertheless we urge the statement that man himself, 
rightly described, includes and embodies all of the 
most real and substantial of the manifestation of funda- 
mental realities. When full opportunity for right ac- 
tion occurs, the qualities of such realities will be ex- 
hibited in his activities. The general recognition of 
these facts of being would aid greatly in the problem 
of a superior development for mankind. 

The most forceful influence toward right action in 
every-day life, is the full recognition on the part of the 
individual associates and those who influence his move- 
ments, that he possesses the disposition and the power 
to act from the highest motives. Realization of the 
moral quality as a principal factor in man's constitu- 
tion, operates as a superior influence in the community ; 
and the recognizing of the moral nature as active with- 
in the purpose of an individual, always aids in bring- 
ing forth the good that dwells within his nature, and 
developing his real character. 

Character is a distinct element in the moral life of 
the individual. Without definite character he could 
not be recognized as man ; he would appear only as an 
animal. Character, then, is a factor in human nature. 
Comprehending this fact we have another substantial 
brick for the building of our edifice of understanding 
of the nature of man. He lives, he is real, and he pos- 
sesses character. These represent the living properties 
of his being. 

The qualities of character are a legitimate object 
of study; and the conducting of the study, to any ex- 



214 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

tent, is fully warranted by the results obtainable. In 
proportion to the purity of our own conception of 
character, do we find the quality of purity and its 
kindred modes of action manifested in life. The opera- 
tion of this rule is accentuated when it applies to direct 
dealing with the individual object of our attention. 

If we think of a man as good, in character and in 
■constitution, in true appreciation of the love that is 
within him, either nestling within his heart as an out- 
going influence of goodness to others, or brooding over 
his soul in strong support of the yet undeveloped forces 
of his external life, invariably he will respond with 
deeds that manifest the divinity of his nature. 

But if we think evil of him and view him as bad, 
giving forth for him meanwhile the mental aura of 
personal hatred, he will be likely to go to any extent, 
perhaps in a frantic effort, to reproduce the act even 
though it shall curse himself also. This is the usual 
result of evil thought. The evil is where the thought 
originates. But it is an illusion. 

Love brings forth smiles and unfolds happiness in 
every heart; but hatred, with lowering brow, scorns 
recognition of the right and compels the wrong as a 
perverted reproduction of its own distorted action. 
In the realm of external thought, hatred is the 
extreme personification of ignorance. It is alw^ays 
false in its nature, therefore it never acts with a moral 
acumen. 

As a representative of personal life, man is subject 
to influence ; and to a wide extent he is also a creature 
of impulse. This is true, especially during the period 
of earlier development, until the higher intellectual 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 215 

faculties and the real spiritual intelligence are under- 
stood and brought into normal activity. His real na- 
ture always reaches after the right, and only external 
influences, operating under the ignorance that is at- 
tendant upon lack of development, ever cause him to 
lean toward wrong-doing. He is, therefore, at all 
times far more amenable to right than to wrong in- 
fluence. This brings him naturally in contact with the 
higher and better of nature's laws and modes of action. 
Conflict or inharmony between man and nature can 
only appear through violation or neglect of some nat- 
ural law. 

Whenever thinking is turned toward higher ideals, 
and better views of life are entertained, purer and more 
forceful ideas become manifest in all the activities of 
life. To the awakened intellect the pure qualities of 
these ideals are immediately apparent. They belong 
to the nature of every individual, and when not recog- 
nized are only sleeping in the undeveloped phases of 
the understanding. 

Every sane person instinctively turns against 
the doing of a wrong act, however trifling it may be. 
The "still small voice" within never fails to admonish 
and in the withinness of his real nature he knows ex- 
actly what he should do. Shame at having done dif- 
ferently, or acted against his own perception of the 
right, is written upon his countenance so clearly that 
often it is the direct means of his overthrow. He is so 
chagrined at having disregarded the promptings of 
his own higher nature that he cannot look his brother- 
man in the face. The sense of his own guilt over- 
powers him for the time being. 



216 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

If viewed in the right Hght and judged without 
prejudice these facts are all in his favor. They are 
convincing proofs of his inherent goodness and show 
that the wrong-doing was not the result of funda- 
mental wickedness, as some seem inclined to believe. 
Unless the qualities of goodness were fundamental 
within his nature he could not recognize their counter- 
parts in action, and so would not know that a wrong 
had been committed. 

This rule holds good in all phases of life and with 
every kind of effort. The extraordinary accomplish- 
ments of the human being, in whatever direction he 
gives his undivided attention, indicates his immediate 
connection with the principles of being and the laws 
of individual life. Without such connection he could 
not produce such copies as he does of the highest ideals 
of the mind, and his attempts to reproduce them in 
life would be abortive. Because of this high estate 
he has power sufficient to harness the forces of nature 
and use them advantageously in the accomplishing of 
every good purpose. Xeither the power nor the func- 
tion is yet exhausted. Indeed, both are practically 
unlimited. Still they belong to him and are a part of 
his nature. In his dealing with ideals they are continu- 
ous possibilities. Every feature of the ideal that is 
discovered within him proves one more point in favor 
of infinity in his nature and reality in his being. Judg- 
ing the acts of his life in the light of surrounding in- 
fluences and the development of his understanding, it 
becomes possible to comprehend his nature, holding 
meanwhile to the standard of infinite reality as the true 
basis of his being. Thus we may be able to judge 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 217 

wisely, compare actual facts and evolve an understand- 
ing that shall enable us to draw a true comparison be- 
tween man himself and nature, which is his native 
element and his real home in this external phase of 
life. Then the understanding of the relation between 
himself and his home in nature, will disclose the actual 
state of his health and its variations both real and 
apparent, which in this study is the objective point. 

This ideal being we conceive to be the real man as 
he actually is. The supreme Intelligence which formed 
him in reality could only use the ideal model ; and he is 
accordingly the expression of the ideal. That which 
is unlike the original does not express it. To be real, 
therefore, he must be the ideal man. He may act 
differently from this, and the action may establish a 
suggestion of inferiority; but that will not change the 
fundamental nature or permanently remove qualities 
coming into existence with him. The infinite cannot 
be lost or destroyed : neither can any part or expression 
of it ever become less than infinite or other than real. 

This high and real standard should be maintained 
while the relationship of man to nature and to health 
are under examination. Any lowering of the stand- 
ard of the being of man himself, will inevitably result 
in lowering also all of his relationships ; for no one of 
these can rise higher than the source of its comparisons. 
Qualities cannot exceed the real character of that from 
which they proceed. 

If we would comprehend a perfect nature, there- 
fore, as the normal home and also the real expression 
of man, a fundamentally real man must be found for 
the inhabitant ; because perfection can only be derived 



218 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

from reality and an expression cannot be superior to 
that which it expresses. 

In considering the matter of health, also, these 
principles and facts must be recognized, for man's 
state of health cannot be better or rise higher than the 
standard of his life; and this will not exceed the real 
state of his being. 

The word health, when used to represent a condi- 
tion in life, means wholeness, integrity. A life that is 
whole and sound in its action is a healthy life which 
represents fairly the normal state of man's existence. 
The Anglo Saxon term for health was hdldh, from hdl, 
hale, sound, whole. 

We shall never realize what perfect health for man- 
kind means until we recognize the sublime fact that 
man is fundamentally whole, and that nothing what- 
ever can ever change that condition or destroy the 
fact. The innate wholeness of his being comes first in 
our comprehension. Then the fundamental whole- 
ness of life as a certainty in his existence should be 
recognized as his normal condition. When these are 
comprehended, the possibiHty of a state of perfect 
health for every member of the human family will 
stand forth as a certainty. It is man's birthright and 
should be realized by each one. 

The influences that stand in the way of individual 
enjoyment of this great boon are many and varied; 
but they all are results of departures in thought, deed 
and action, from the standard of wholeness and right- 
ness that in the beginning was established as the norm 
of human existence. They do not represent man^s 
health — not even in variations; but only departures 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 319 

from or neglect of the regulations governing his 
conditions. 

There is no ill-wholeness and no "poor state" of 
wholeness; therefore these expressions do not prop- 
erly relate to health, but to the reverse idea, or the 
notion of an absence of health. But man's wholeness 
is always present, therefore health is always on 
draught. Nothing can remove it, entirely, from the 
realm of his existence. He may ignore it, but still it 
is with him. He may deny its existence, yet it will 
quietly and firmly await the return of sane thought 
and speech. When he again recognizes its entity as 
belonging with him he will soon find its modes of ac- 
tion effective in the conditions of his life ; for its cease- 
less activities are always at hand and ready to respond 
to the first recognition of their existence and their 
usefulness. The principle of reality is whole and its 
manifesting activities must be healthful. 

The existence of a right relation between man and 
nature is essential to the continuance of either of 
them; and a true understanding of both the fact and 
its application in life is imperative in the solution of 
any problem of health. 

Nature, as the term is used here, has a double sig- 
nificance. It stands for all that manifests reality, on 
all planes. It has both objective and subjective phases. 
On the objective plane it refers to all objects and their 
combinations, modes and laws of action, and all that 
constitutes man's means of conscious association with 
life and action in personal existence. On the inner 
plane of conscious existence the term signifies the sub- 
jective things composed of thought-action, and which 



320 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

represent man's mental doings and realizations of life 
in things, thoughts, ideas, conceptions, laws and modes 
of mental life, and states of activity. All belong to na- 
ture and constitute man's expressive powers, and his 
means of conscious contact with both the universe and 
the world. On either plane the combined mass of activi- 
ties comprises what is termed Nature — that state of 
activity which embraces and exhibits the laws, modes 
and conditions of that plane of life, and which are 
normal to all phases of life that inhabit those realms. 
On either plane Nature is the expression of generic 
man, because it represents all the activities of his 
thought and action for all the ages of his manifesting 
existence. And man, in turn, is the manifestation o£ 
God. Thus God, Deity, created the world and the 
universe and all that is in them ; but He did this through 
the obedient operation of man, who is both the heir 
and the instrument of the Almighty. 

Nature is the result, expressed through a multi- 
tude of individual actions, of the race-thinking about 
principles, laws, facts and realities, for countless ages. 
Its conditions have all been constructed by man him- 
self, through the varying changes of his experience, 
from spiritual principle, outward and downward to 
monad and from monad, upward to man again. Na- 
ture, therefore, is the embodiment of man's thoughts 
in the form of things ; and while he continues to think 
them and live in their action, the state of these condi- 
tions is his natural home. Thus the field of nature is 
both the expression and the home of the personal man 
— materially on the plane of objects, and mentally on 
the plane of subjective mentality. In a proper study 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 321 

of man, both of these planes of power and fields of 
action are especially important to understand. They 
constitute all of our ready means of coming in con- 
scious contact with man in the shape of personal life, 
activity or power. 

The relation of man to nature, therefore, is really 
the first relationship m external life that can rightly 
be studied. The results of every problem in life hinge 
upon this relationship. Later, also, we shall see that 
the condition of health, in physical and in mental life, 
depends almost altogether upon these relationships of 
man to the physical and the mental realms of nature. 

On either of these planes of existence man may be 
said really to live, only in ratio to his adjustment to 
the conditions, qualifications and activities of the 
things, persons and phases of reality recognized as 
native to that plane. In proportion as he understands 
the things does he know those phases of the realm to 
which they belong; and he exemplifies in his life only 
those things or ideas which he knozvs. Knowledge, 
then, comes before wholeness of personal life; and 
this, in turn, precedes health as a matter of realization. 
Completeness in knowledge will result in perfection of 
understanding; and this establishes a consciousness of 
wholeness in life, that reflects outwardly as health 
m.anifest in activity. This is the true course of the 
law and no one can depart from it while continuing to 
live. The instances of seeming variation are cases of 
transgression through misunderstanding. They carry 
their own penalty, but are not wholly destructive. Man 
and Nature are harmonious and introactive because 
each is the other in a dififerent phase of expressive ac- 



222 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

tion. Both together are the manifesting expression 
of the DIVINE REALITY OF BEING. Because of this fea- 
ture of divinity within, wholeness in the Hfe of him 
who manifests the law is assured beyond peradventure, 
and this makes health almost obligatory upon those 
who KNOW^ REALIZE AND LIVE in the true relationship 
of man to nature. 

The one who rightly realizes his true relationship 
to nature, both mental and physical, will recognize the 
harmony that always exists between himself and those 
phases that are akin to his thinking or his development. 
Those phases that have not yet become his own 
through use and knowledge, will receive their proper 
classification and be allotted their purpose in the 
scheme of life, without in any way interfering with 
the progress of any one of them because not adapted 
to present requirements. In conducting his own life 
the individual will be able to so direct his own forces 
as to employ the right agents for his own purposes and 
to avoid those not adequate or feasible. He will not 
eat stones for bread, neither will he attempt to walk 
upon deep waters, or fly from the housetops. His 
knowledge of things, conditions, laws and rules of ac- 
tion make all similar inconsistencies impossible. 

These, of course, are the simple illustrations which 
are known to everyone. There are others, however, 
more subtile and not so well understood, but just as 
vital to know, on both planes. Deaths occur in thou- 
sands every day because of this lack of understanding 
and the consequent lack of adjustment between man 
and the "nature" of his being. 

Nearly as many things are misunderstood on the 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 223 

mental as on the physical plane; and results are just as 
disastrous. The adjustment is equally important. The 
matter of health is even more intricately involved 
here than on the physical plane. Every state of mind 
develops its own corresponding condition of action 
which will repeat itself in the bodily tissue to evolve a 
similar condition. Thus the full enjoyment of 
HEALTH may be interfered with temporarily. But 
health, as a "quality" of the life of that individual's 
being has not been disturbed. And the interference is 
only temporary. There is no permanent interference 
with or obstruction to life and health. Both endure 
forever. We have only to maintain the perfect ad- 
justment; and foremost among efficient means is 
knowledge of nature, in relationship with human life. 
Really, no one ever doubts this. Yet some fail to 
think about it sufficiently to realize the need of atten- 
tion to details. But there is a possibility of misjudg- 
ing nature and so misinterpreting relationships and 
failing to recognize the real, healthy combinations of 
activities. In the present time of many teachings 
about spiritual law and truth there is a strong ten- 
dency toward ignoring nature on all planes and dis- 
regarding the external, both mental and physical, in 
favor of developing the spiritual. The teaching turns 
upon the idea that if the spiritual faculties be used, 
developed and depended upon they will be all-sufficient 
at all times and the others will flourish without atten- 
tion or even recognition. This is true in part, but only 
under the right circumstances. If the ignoring of the 
external leads to entire neglect in such ways that the 
definite laws of life on that plane are not complied with 



234 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

to a reasonable extent, a healthy state of affairs in this 
life cannot be maintained. The degree of adjustment 
is the only point in question. The existing facts here are 
a source of much misunderstanding among the most 
earnest inquirers and serious investigators of higher 
law. 

It is easy to overestimate or underestimate in 
judging any natural law; and s^ll more so with regard 
to spiritual law, because we are less familiar with both 
its character and its working. If spiritual laws and 
activities are rightly apprehended and understood, to 
the extent of full control of all the mental faculties 
and exercise of their powers in strict accordance with 
the activities of the spiritual life, then it is freely ad- 
mitted that the spiritual model, influence and guidance 
are supreme and the lower order of action will con- 
form to and correctly reproduce the higher which is 
its model and generates its movement. 

But actual knowing, alone, can accomplish this 
act. Mere assertion of superior spiritual accomplish- 
ments is not sufficient, for these assertions and claims 
may not materialize in facts. The genuine possessor of 
superior spiritual understanding is careful of his hold- 
ings and never cries them in the highways. He real- 
izes also the vast realms still beyond his present ac- 
complishment, and is meek. The one who assumes 
without possessing, however, forgets modesty and lays 
claim to all knowledge. 

The average student and would-be doer of good 
deeds in daily life, however, is willing to do in order to 
accomplish; and he is not anxious to dispense with 
means. 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 225 

Here a free and unprejudiced view of the situation 
and knowledge of the activities of the mental 
realm are of the greatest importance. Knowing 
these he can and will form an adjustment be- 
tween them and the realities of the spiritual realm 
from which they proceed. Thus he spiritualizes his 
thinking, through unselfish intent, and also spiritual- 
izes his action in the conscious reproduction of the law. 
He thus brings himself into true relation to the mental 
nature while remaining consciously active in spiritual 
understanding. The physical inversion of the activity 
involved here, in the mentality, will be a true 
simulacrum of the thought which on its own plane has 
reproduced the pure spiritual idea; and the reproduc- 
tive act is complete. Nature, on both planes, has been 
true to its function, and the understanding of facts has 
established man's actual relation with nature. 

All ideas with regard to life, that are evolved and 
comprehended in this manner, will inevitably result in 
health on both the mental and the physical planes. 
They proceed from the absolute wholeness of the 
spiritual idea, coming untainted through unselfish and 
impersonal channels of individual understanding, 
which, while dealing with and relating itself and its 
idea to the more outward planes, still holds unde- 
viatingly to the pure ideal in spiritual reality. Thus all 
the real qualities that can appear in such mediums as 
the lower planes afiFord, come forward and are repro- 
duced in expression here; and as the individual who 
experiences all this knows what it is, whence it comes 
and how it is unfolded, he holds the vantage ground 
over all those who either disbelieve, having had no ex- 



226 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

perience, or believe without having investigated; for 
he knows in all ways, therefore can apply and use his 
accomplishments wherever needed, and always for in- 
calculable good. 

In this procedure every thought is a true healing 
balm, because it illuminates with the light of the whole- 
ness of reality; and wholeness of understanding is 
health to every realization. 

To be healthy think healthful thoughts; realize 
healthful ideas; examine the wholeness of activities 
and know wholeness to be the foundation of all reality. 
Then, bring that knowing of the fact forward with 
you in every conscious thought and act, never allowing 
it to lapse in any of your doings, and wholeness as a 
fact in being and in life will radiate from you to every 
person and every thing with w^hich you come in con- 
tact. It is all a matter of knowledge, understanding, 
realization, in the intelligence of the individual. With 
these in full operation the laws of being will attend to 
results. Nature, on every plane, will then show forth 
the handiwork of the Creator; and man's adjustment 
to nature, through pure understanding bereft of per- 
sonal desire, will bring him directly in contact with 
reality where he can only realize wholeness. In this is 
permanent health, for every activity of mind and body 
will hasten to reproduce the idea that is realized in the 
spiritual understanding and repeated in the spiritual 
mentality. Thoughts, based upon man's true relation 
to nature on his own plane of life, are healing influ- 
ences to all on that plane. Each such conception is a 
blessing unfolded from the true life, through the un- 
derstanding that makes us whole. 



MAN, NATURE AND HEALTH. 237 

Man, Nature and Health, combined under right 
relations, therefore, produce that mode of activity 
which is suited to express the truths of being in har- 
monious life; and truthful life is the right manifesta- 
tion of God upon earth. Unless harmony is embodied 
in all three of these factors the relations are not right 
in their adjustment, and the understanding is not yet 
free. Reconstruct these and the problem will clear. 

Pure, unselfish thinking is the most reliable instru- 
ment, here. But beware of the pitfalls of supposed 
"special inspiration/' It is alluring to the personal 
conceit, but while it is entertained valuable time is lost. 
He who feels so "inspired" that he does not need to 
think, has somehow missed his primer class. At best 
he is a doubtful leader. Before he can progress in a 
satisfactory manner he must begin again and work for 
himself, laying a true foundation for the acquiring of 
reliable information through the right exercise of his 
own real and sufficient faculties. 

Right and efficient thinking is a holy function of 
this life, and none should neglect it. Its accomplish- 
ment brings a supreme satisfaction. The powers of 
knowledge never really mature with one who does his 
thinking by proxy. The mind's power to heal, to lead, 
or to uplift, rests entirely upon individual thinking. 

In the virgin field of thought Man is the molder. 
Nature the matrix, and Health the living outcome in 
joyful life. All these combined, working in unison, 
express the divine wholeness of reality in human life. 



XV. 

The Nervous Nature of Disease 



Chapter XV. 
THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 

In every variety of sickness the nervous system is 
involved to some extent. In most cases the nervous 
symptoms are of more vital import than commonly 
supposed. In the study of symptoms this fact is rap- 
idly gaining ground among pathologists, and in diag- 
noses it has already become a marked feature. Still 
its importance appears to be only partially recognized, 
and frequently the most important nervous features 
are interpreted in a more materialistic way than is 
v^arranted by the finer features of the action involved, 
and this to the detriment of all concerned. 

How to determine accurately whether the condi- 
tions in a given case of sickness are definitely organic 
— physical in their nature and origin; organically 
functional — a functional disturbance of the action of 
an organ of the body, or of organic tissue ; or "merely 
nervous," is puzzling some of the brightest minds of 
the world to-day. The difference between the symp- 
toms of what are considered to be the different planes 
of disease, is difficult to determine accurately, from the 
physical standpoint. 

This question has almost become the bane of the 
physician, whether specialist or general practitioner. 
Often it is baffling in the extreme. The somewhat 
arbitrary decisions of the specialist, as frequently ren- 
dered, appear to be more in line with established rules 

231 



232 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

laid down by the accepted authorities, than in strict 
accordance with the actual conditions and circum- 
stances of the case in question. Such rules often ap- 
pear to overlook the facts, as regards the supposed 
material requirements ; and hence by adhering to them 
too rigidly, other and more important procedures may 
"be neglected. Altogether too often for scientific stand- 
ing the sufferer obtains no relief from his trusted 
science, and is obliged to turn elsewhere for the needed 
assistance. 

The distinctly organic forms of disease are by all 
considered to be the easiest to understand, because 
the condition that is present, according to sense-evi- 
dence, seems to be actually as it is reported by sight 
and feeling. 

The next subdivision of disease, however, the so- 
called "functional" condition, is less in evidence to the 
external senses or to physical instruments of any kind. 
Therefore it offers more ground for speculation. Here 
a marked difference of opinion appears among investi- 
gators. The decision often reached in "scientific" opin- 
ion and the verdict rendered reads, most preposter- 
ously: "There is nothing the matter with you — you 
are only nervous. Nothing can be done for you 
in science." 

Only nervous, yet cannot be cured ! There is "noth- 
ing" the matter, yet the case is incurable! In this 
enlightened age there should be no such quandary as 
this. Conditions should be adequately examined and 
understood. If approached in the right way, this can 
iDe done. The difficulties of past experience have mainly 
arisen because judgment was based upon the evidences 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 233 

of the senses, and the causes as well as conditions 
were sought in the physical realm. But the actual 
disturbing causes are too fine in their action to be thus 
accounted for, and so they escape the notice of 
investigators. 

All ultimate causes of sickness are mental. "But," 
the skeptic asks, ''if this be true, how comes it that 
sickness appears so clearly and so definitely on and in 
the physical body — in the bony structure, the arterial 
system, the muscular fiber, the fleshly tissue, even the 
vital organs themselves? What can the mind have to 
do with these real and substantial parts of the physical 
body — the material man ?" 

The answer to these and all similar questions is: 
The body in its entirety is the instrument of the mind, 
and all of its parts are equally amenable to its in- 
fluence. This influence of the mind is exerted upon 
the coarser structure of the body, through the inter- 
mediary action of the nervous system. This super- 
latively fine structure is so intricate in construction 
that it cannot be observed in all the detail of its opera- 
tive action. It is immediately responsive, however, to 
every suggestion that is registered by the mind. 

Few, even among those who study the nervous 
system, appear to realize its marvelous intricacy, or the 
extent of its powers for action in every phase and fea- 
ture of personal life. Indeed, it seems doubtful 
whether many persons realize or recognize so much 
intricacy of action present in the entire universe, as 
is exhibited by the human system of nerves, with their 
numerous centers, each most important to life itself: 
their trunks, branches, cords, tubes, ducts, ganglia. 



234 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

and reservoirs; their attacking forces, powers of re- 
sistance and modes of defence; their instruments of 
sensation; organs of usefulness and of pleasure; and, 
in fact, their means of action of every kind conceivable 
by man as bearing any relation to life on this plane 
either physical or mental. 

All of this and a thousand times more may truth- 
fully be affirmed of the structure and functions of the 
nervous system. It so permeates the entire body that 
on no spot of its sensitive surface can it be touched by 
the finest conceivable point, even that of the smallest 
needle, without encountering a nerve, nervous sub- 
stance, or even a system of nerves that will immedi- 
ately protest against the invasion. 

The nerve-substance supplies all the tissue of every 
portion of the physical body, internal and external, so 
completely that if it were possible to remove all other 
parts of the tissue of the human body — all bone, mus- 
cle, organ, artery and fatty tissue — leaving all the 
nerve and nerve-tissue or substance intact, so much 
would still remain that the person might be recognized, 
not only as a human body, but as a whole, perfectly 
formed and filled out to completeness. Indeed, the 
person himself would be easily recognizable, so intri- 
cate, universal and far-reaching in physical life is the 
nervous system of man. Every function of the won- 
derful mentality of the individual has its corresponding 
system of nerves, which it uses for its own definite pur- 
pose in life and as the physical instrument of definite 
thought, in ways that are really too intricate to be 
comprehended through personal observation alone. 
Every mechanical contrivance and mode of movement 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 235 

that had as yet been employed in the construction of 
machinery, either coarse or fine in mechanism, existed 
already in the normal operations of the nervous sys- 
tem before it was invented as a mechanical contrivance. 
It would seem that the mind of the inventor comes in 
contact with these finer instruments and recognizes 
their uses. Then he applies the law of action, through 
his conscious thinking, and produces an invention. 

This similarity between nerve-structure and me- 
chanical invention is perhaps well exemplified in the 
discovery of the "membrane of Reichner," which bears 
the name of its accomplished discoverer. This is a 
tiny microscopical membrane, really a nerve-structure, 
"which is a part of the mechanism of the middle 
ear. Under a four thousand power microscope this 
membrane exhibits a complete and perfect copy of a 
pianoforte keyboard, both the long and the short keys 
being represented. This tiny specimen of nerve- 
mechanism floats on liquid that might be called a tiny 
lake of nerve-fluid, and in its normal state a perfect 
equilibrium is maintained. The membrane floats and 
is evenly balanced. When this equilibrium is upset 
the person is in a more or less morbid and indefinite 
state both physical and mental. Some forms of ver- 
tigo appear to bear relation to this condition. Persons 
afflicted in this way appear to lose the sense of certain 
tones of the musical scale, either low or high, as the 
case may be. 

Is it not probable, therefore — nay, practically cer- 
tain, we might say, that this tiny bit of mechanism 
represents instrumentally the mind's registry and use 
of the idea of tonalitv and the musical scale? This 



236 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

appears to be the only feasible explanation of the 
physiological fact available at the present time. 

For every idea, thought, conception or movement 
of the mind, there is a corresponding nerve or system 
of nerves in the body, that is immediately responsive to 
every thought-influence in the line of action for which 
it was constructed. This physical instrument of men- 
tal action is the mind's direct means of expressing to 
the personal world the results of its thinking about 
ideas. The conceptions are all accumulated in the 
mind, and the ''things" which express them are grouped 
and retained in the body. This holds absolutely true 
of all operations of the mind that are maintained upon 
the plane of personal life, and of all bodily response ta 
thought or reproduction of its action. 

This subconscious association of thought and nerve 
is the means by which every person moves and uses 
every part of the body. The nerve-response to every 
thought is instantaneous. The quickness of response 
and rapidity of movement are inconceivable, and can- 
not be followed in conscious thinking. 

The winking of an eye and the forming of a tone 
in singing or in speaking, are examples. When any 
nerve or system of nerves is interrupted in its action, 
or impaired in substance, the mind cannot use it nor- 
mally. Therefore that part of the physical system is 
unavailable for purposes of expression, and such 
thoughts as relate to those features of life cannot be 
expressed on that body or by that person. The total 
impairment of such a nerve or system of nerves pro- 
duces what is called paralysis. It relates to the part of 
the body that is affected, and its cause rests in that 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 237 

phase of action of the mind which relates to and uses 
those particular nerves. 

When for any reason the nerves that operate in a 
bodily function cannot be used by the mind, the func- 
tion itself ceases its action and the body is powerless 
in that part. In that way and to that extent the person 
is ailing or sick. Manifestly the remedy is to restore 
the nervous system to its normal condition. In the 
most if not all of such instances, the trouble came 
through some distorted mental action that upset the 
nervous equilibrium. In these instances the true rem- 
edy consists in restoring the mental condition and con- 
tinuing the right action until the corresponding condi- 
tion of the nerves can be reinstated physically. This is 
a natural cure. It is the only direct and permanent 
curative action that can be employed. The rule applies 
to all cases of all kinds and degrees where the nervous 
system can be considered in the action involved. Care- 
ful search will always disclose such a corresponding 
cause for every such case of sickness. 

These are facts that have been established by both 
physical and mental research. They cannot be refuted. 
In their light the truth is demonstrated that sickness is 
strictly nervous in its nature. We have before demon- 
strated that it is so in its origin, so far as its distinctly 
physical characteristics are concerned. 

Sickness begins in the mind, and consists always 
in some abnormal thought-action, either conscious or 
sub-conscious. The thought may have originated in 
the direct thinking of the person afflicted, or in some 
other mind or minds, and from whom it was trans- 
ferred by reflection to the subconscious mentality of 



238 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

the sufferer. Because the abnormal thought relates 
to bodily life, or to the personal action of living, it 
reflects to another person through the personal chan- 
nels of his thought-processes, and is at once reproduced 
in his nerve structure. Later it may culminate in an 
organic condition. In any event each established case 
was mental, and entirely so, before it was anything else. 
A definite and natural relation always exists every- 
where between the mentality of the race and the phy- 
sical realm. The same state of affairs exists between 
the mind and the body of each individual. The body 
produces in physical function all the action that be- 
comes established in the mind by direct thinking, or 
that is reflected and so reproduced in it from the think- 
ing operations of others, especially when it relates in 
any way to personal life. The abnormal thinking al- 
ways relates to bodily life and to the action of living, in 
some phase of personal existence. Through the com- 
munion of mental and bodily relationship, the personal 
thought reflects directly to the body of the person con- 
cerned. Here it enters through the nerve-centers. 
These embody the highest states of activity possible in 
physical mechanism. The relation between these cen- 
ters and the thought- centers of the mind is so close that 
the reflected action is reproduced at once and without 
perceptible interference with ordinary conditions, un- 
less the difference in action is so great that the mes- 
sage is received with such intensity that the idea acts 
as a shock. Each thought reflected in this manner 
enters the realm of the physical body for the purposes 
of reproductive expression, through the particular 
nerve-center which relates to it in character. This 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 23^ 

occurs more especially as regards the part or portion 
of the body that is involved in the thinking, or the 
function that corresponds to the action of the thought 
itself. There are special nerve-centers of all bodily 
functions. All action that relates to any one function, 
enters through that center and is distributed from it 
over the nerves that proceed to the organs and parts 
which it controls. 

There is no such thing as organic action entirely 
independent of nerve action; as for example: action 
of the heart ; muscular action ; action of the liver ; the 
lungs; the stomach, etc. Sever the connection of the 
organ in question with its particular nerve-center and 
its activity will cease. Also, if in any way the nerve- 
center be rendered unresponsive to mental impulse, the 
corresponding organ and all nerves and branches lead- 
ing to it will be correspondingly affected. 

Thus all organs are operated and all organic action 
is controlled by the nerves leading to and connected 
with them. All nerves of a system act under the im- 
pulse given them from their own nerve-center. All 
nerve-centers are responsive to the mind. They repro- 
duce, in nerve-action, whatever the mind thinks about 
bodily life that relates to their especial functions in 
personal life. This takes place regardless of conscious 
intention, even independently of any knowledge of the 
fact. When the connection is made between a mind 
and its body, all the natural laws of such life as this 
come promptly into operation and continue uninter- 
ruptedly until the end. There is change, variation, 
and deviation of functional action, but the laws are 
continuously in operation and always subject to ad- 



240 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

justment of the action to its purpose. The order of 
action from purpose to result, here is as follows : 

(a) — The idea in consciousness — a purely subjec- 
tive activity associated with a purpose to do or accom- 
plish something. 

(b) — The THOUGHT formulated about the intent to 
accomplish the purpose. 

(c) — The REALIZATION in the mind of the accom- 
plishing of the purpose, and the consequent action in 
completed form. 

(d) — The REPRODUCTION of the realizing action, in 
those nerve-centers to w^hich the action relates by na- 
ture. This action, when transferred from the mind to 
the nerve-centers, becomes an impulse to generation of 
its forces in the entire physical body. 

(e) — The nervous action generated by this series 
of thought-impulses. This causes states of nervous 
action wdth the various parts of the bodily structure to 
which those nerves extend. 

(f) — The BODILY CONDITION, as the final result of 
the reproductions of this entire line of activities. Each 
is a reproduction of the previous one, and the final re- 
sult is the direct outcome, on the material plane, of the 
IDEA which was first in consciousness. 

This constitutes the materializing of an idea, and 
the physical reproduction of a thought. The same set 
of successive reproductions occurs w4th every idea or 
thought that is turned into the channel of personal life. 
If the intentional act begins with (b), in a mere 
thought, without any real idea based in spiritual con- 
sciousness resting behind it, as a truthful impulse in 
life, the action of the next succeeding phase will be 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 241 

of the same order, only it will lack the vital impulse of 
the activity of reality. 

This lack of vital force and energy will be apparent 
in each step of the entire series of reproductions, and 
will manifest itself in the final result. 

In the immediate realm of thought-action, where 
thoughts are originally formed, every phase, feature 
and degree of all of these successive reproductions can 
be efficiently controlled and so regulated as to produce 
right results. Every thought is under the absolute 
control of the intelligence, when it is exercised under 
the right operations of the will. A true idea bears the 
full vitality of the actual, and will eventuate in a result 
that is real, unless diverted in its action by a false 
coloring added on the plane of thought. Even then 
the idea remains the same and only the action which 
succeeds the thought is affected by the error. By this 
train of facts we may see that what is thought in mind 
may be expressed in bodily function, organ and tissue, 
by laws that are entirely natural, reasonable and easy 
to understand. It is equally true and just as evident 
that the character of the final result in the bodily ex- 
pression is entirely under the control of the will, 
operating from the thought plane. This is so, regard- 
less of our own desires. It is the permanent law as 
regards the course of action between ideas and things. 
We cannot change the law but we can and may adjust 
our thinking so as to derive from it the best possible 
results in life. By understanding these facts we may 
see that results are controllable, and begin to think and 
work for better purpose than in the past. 

This entire line of change in action between the 



242 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

idea and the objective expression, is produced by the 
mind itself, in a very high order of intelligence, where 
all is understood and conducted with entire regard for 
the established law. From stage to stage action is al- 
ways alike, and it can only be changed in the thinking. 
The operations are all subconscious, however, and con- 
scious dealing with each stage of action separately is 
not necessary. This may be fortunate, for even the 
simplest of the actions involved is too intricate to be 
learned and mastered in a single short space of life 
such as is experienced by each one here. 

It would seem that the mind of man must have ex- 
isted for ages to have learned all of these facts and 
laws. Certainly the individual exercises these powers 
and it is through this accumulation of knowledge that 
he is enabled to build and maintain a physical body. 
But the subconscious processes in nerve-action do not 
require conscious attention. They operate perfectly 
under natural law, in what appears to be a spontaneous 
response to thought. The important point for us to 
understand is that the plane of conscious thinking is 
the ground for action, and that here the mind's dealing 
with the idea is the generative action and power for all 
purposes. Think the right idea, and think it well, and 
the corresponding result is inevitable. No result what- 
ever can come to the body through its ordinary chan- 
nels of action, in any other way than this. Neither 
ignorance nor conceit can establish any other series of 
facts about it. The law of the succession of idea by 
thought, and thought by nerve-action, is established 
and it is permanent. 

A sincere thought of life, vigor, health, strength. 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 243 

power and sufficiency, goes forward in action through 
all the successive stages, establishing these qualities all 
along the line in nerve-center, nerve, organ, tissue and 
member, thus producing a healthy body. This result 
is all the more certain because such a thought is true 
and based upon a real idea of being. It is fottnded in 
vitality and its energy instills power into every feature 
of its action. 

A thought of sickness, however, has no such base. 
It contains no energy or power. There is no divine 
idea "sickness," and no sick or unhealthy reality. Sick- 
ness is not an "idea" in consciousness. On the plane 
of real ideas the notion does not exist. 

Sickness has its origin, as regards impulse, and its 
beginning as regards action, on the plane of personal 
thinking. In going forward for expression on the 
physical plane, the opinion proceeds without the vigor 
and vitality of real activity that accompanies the real 
idea of life. All of this action is negative and empty. 
The eventual result must bear the same character. But 
all of these results are unnecessary. Start with the 
right action and the character of the thought will be 
produced in every feature of progress. If the right 
thought be formed in the mind, and the vitality of the 
true idea be inculcated in the beginning, the continua- 
tion of action will be right and the result will be like 
the intention. 

The thought of sickness is itself unhealthy. It is 
also correspondingly weak. This weakness is repro- 
duced in nerve-center, nerve, muscle, fiber, tissue and 
organ, simply because it was in the thought in which 
the action began. All tissue so generated is below par, 



244 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

morbid, degenerate. These evidences are judged as 
disease. They all are the natural result of morbid 
action. 

It may be that the original thought was one of fear 
rather than of sickness. The result, however, is the 
same. Either one of these thoughts leads to the other. 
Each results in the same degenerate and destructive 
action throughout the entire mind, the nerve-system, 
and the organic structure. 

The depletion of force that accompanies fear is 
well known. Indeed, to observing persons it usually is 
self-evident. While the individual is under the con- 
tinued influence jf fear, the physical body, which is 
the nervous reproduction of the mind, cannot main- 
tain its integrity. 

Every thought formed in the mind is spontaneously 
repeated in the functional action of the body which 
represents that mind on the physical plane; conse- 
quently, each fear indulged by the mind must also be 
repeated in nervous action. When the idea of danger 
is associated with some particular part of the body, or 
corresponds to its action, the line of action to that part 
will be most direct; and the fear, in following the 
course of reproductive changes will result in some 
appreciable degree of depletion of force in all parts 
affected. This leads to a seeming destruction of tis- 
sue; and organic disease, even, may be registered in 
tissue and reported by the man of science. He ob- 
serves the result but does not recognize the causative 
action that rests back of it. Our main work is with 
this cause, which is always mental. 

The search for a remedy for a condition of this 



THE NERVOUS NATURE OF DISEASE. 245 

order, should begin with the thought-action where the 
error had its inception. That must be reversed and 
started again, but in the right direction. If the thought 
had not been wrong the erroneous result would never 
have appeared. If it had been discovered and reversed 
in time, the disturbed condition would have been 
avoided. It began with an action not based upon 
reality, therefore its effects are unreal. The physical 
condition itself is not necessary and it need not con- 
tinue. The thought can be reversed and the condition 
can thus be eradicated. 

On the plane of thought any idea can be changed at 
any time. Begin again and establish a correction of 
this erroneous opinion. Then send the true thought 
based upon a genuine idea forward to the body. It 
will go and it will reproduce as readily as did the 
other; even more so, because it is based in reality. 
Think rightly and persistently and this real idea will 
take the place of the false opinion. Then nerve-center, 
nerve, and fiber will reproduce reality in every action ; 
and this generates health. It will reproduce and es- 
tablish itself as sound organic tissue. In this way, 
entirely natural as it is, any organic condition can be 
restored, because it is of nervous origin and was pro- 
duced through distorted and depleted nerve-action, di- 
rect from a wrongly based thought action. Change the 
course of the thought, and all the action through the 
! nervous system to the organic center will change 
* accordingly. 

Any thought of diseases, sickness, weakness, inabil- 
ity, lack or deficiency; of fear, anxiety, worry, or 
doubt, will reflect from the thought-processes to the 



246 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

nerve-centers. If it be continued, it will, in time, es- 
tablish itself as a reproduced activity in that part, organ 
or function of the body which corresponds to its order 
of activity. If a wrong thought be indulged and con- 
tinued, this result will be inevitable. But the action 
may be reversed at any time by re-establishing the 
right thinking. There is nothing in nature or in law 
to prevent this result. 

Disease and sickness, then, are nervous in their 
nature and their action. The fact that after they have 
become established the different forms are distinct 
physical conditions, does not affect the problem; be- 
cause the same knowledge that enables the explaining 
of their nature and showing their character, also con- 
tains the means and the power of counteracting their 
influence, reversing their action and re-establishing the 
real activities, which will then render the continued 
presence of abnormal conditions impossible. 

When the character of the supposed thing is un- 
derstood, therefore, its remedy is easily comprehended. 
Correct the thought-action at its foundation and the 
sickness must disappear. 

The nature of all sickness is nervous, because its 
action can reach the physical structure only through 
the responsive action of the nerve-centers. Suspend 
all nerve action and no disease can affect the tissues 
or organs of the. body. 

If a perfect equilibrium be maintained in the mind, 
the nervous system, reproducing the thinking, will 
successfully resist every seeming onslaught of disease. 



XVI 

Emotion in Sickness and in Cure 



Chapter XVI. 
EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 

With all attempts at healing by means of thought, 
or through the use of the mind, the emotional nature 
of the human being is invariably a factor in the pro- 
ceedings if not in the philosophy employed. Usually 
it is prominent in both. To what extent it should be 
recognized in the sickness itself, or as a factor in its 
causes, and how much it may have to do with the 
necessary curative action, are questions more or less 
important in determining the course of action to be 
pursued with a given case. The extent to which the 
emotional nature is involved in both the character and 
the cause of any case of sickness is seldom recognized. 
For this reason determining the right remedies is not 
always easy and theories so evolved are not sufficiently 
accurate. This is true with regard to both material 
and mental methods. For these reasons the subject 
would seem to require intelligent attention both in 
study and practice, and there appears to be a place 
for it in the literature of the day. 

The word "emotion" relates to movement. It is 
a moving, turning, or stirring of some phase or feature 
of personal life; especially when related to the feel- 
ings. Emotion is a moving, turning, or changing 
of action within the mind. The more impulsive the 

249 



250 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

disposition the more emotional the person usually is 
considered to be. This is especially true with regard 
to mental violence. 

Emotion itself, therefore, is the movement of the 
mind. It is an entirely legitimate function of mentality. 
Like all other functions and faculties it is harmful only 
when misused. Either abuse or misuse of the faculty, 
usually comes about through failing to understand its 
character and its proper functions. It is mainly in 
these ways that a study of emotion may help in these 
investigations. 

Every individual possesses an emotional nature. 
With each one it is more or less spontaneous in action, 
or developed under self-control, as the case may be. 
With each one it is closely associated with the "feel- 
ings" of the mind; and this is the proving ground of 
its action and its powers. If the emotional nature of 
the mind be given over to the control of feeling, unre- 
strained by judgment, disaster both mental and physical 
is near at hand. 

Like all personal activities of the mind, emotion 
may be sensuous — relating to and operating with those 
feelings which deal with sense-activities; or it may 
operate with those features of mentality that move in 
higher channels, where the activities of ideas are 
understood and the better feelings which adjust to 
goodness and truth predominate in thought. Which 
of these widely diverging lines of action shall be the 
seat of the emotions, is largely a matter of choice and 
determination by each individual. A clear understand- 
ing of the character of each, however, is essential to a 
conscious choice between them. In the exercise of a 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 251 

well balanced mind, which is based in the higher spirit- 
ual philosophy, the individual lives under the guidance 
of spiritual intelligence. With these favorable cir- 
cumstances the emotions act under the higher impulses 
of the mind. They are then expressed in action 
through those feelings which are attuned to the right 
ideas in which the mind recognizes the real. 

This, however, is the highest form of emotional 
response to the activity of ideas. In this degree it is 
not any too common in daily experience. It does not 
follow the impulses of the senses, but it is the true 
emotion and it is perfectly natural to man in his real 
selfhood. It is the apperceptive feeling of the soul 
manifested outwardly through the perceptive powers 
of the mind. It is fully possible to the intelligence of 
each one. As a mode of action in life, we should culti- 
vate it in every way possible. This form of emotional 
realization has greater value in life than is often sup- 
posed. It really cannot be overestimated. In its use 
and development, however, every feeling must be tem- 
pered with judgment or there is danger that the sensu- 
ous inclinations m.ay lead it downward. This action 
is extremely subtile and often difficult to recognize. 
The emotions are not competent leaders, therefore, in 
any event. They should be recognized as manifesta- 
tion of feeling, and trained as strong allies of good 
judgment in all mental operations, but should never be 
given the superior position or be appealed to for 
guidance. 

Let feeling be the outcome of sound reasoning that 
shall disclose the right of the subject, or of the ques- 
tion that is up for consideration, and it will rise high 



252 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

enough to prompt in the mind the full recognition o£ 
the reality of the subject and a soulful appreciation 
of the beauties of its truth. This is a right exercise 
of emotion. It will be safe as a course of action be- 
cause founded on the right and formulated in true 
reason tempered by judgment. Such stirring of the 
feelings as this is the emotion of the gods. 

But there is a mere semblance of this true feeling, 
which in itself is based upon the response of the senses 
to the notion of pleasure in self-indulgence. This 
feature of emotion is extremely dangerous to the ani- 
mal nature and to the mind when dealing with per- 
sonal questions. It misleads in every direction. If 
the personal feelings are consulted, here, we are sure 
to decide wrongly. In such a quandary as this we 
should ignore the mere feeling, and carefully weigh 
all factors in the proposition, until the question is 
rightly understood on its own merits. Then judge by 
facts, not by feelings, wishes, desires, or personal in- 
clinations. A better opinion will thus be formed, and a 
vastly better feeling will prevail with the mind, than 
would have been the case had the first sensuous feel- 
ing been followed. As is the case with all such propo- 
sitions in philosophy, the true conviction far outweighs 
the false and misleading emotion. 

In matters of sickness and of health this philosophy 
of the emotions is invaluable in innumerable ways. 
The sensuous emotions are indulged by the mind with 
the object and aim of gaining pleasure and personal 
satisfaction through the possession and use of material 
things, in themselves, regardless of their higher uses 
or of the rights and needs of others. In their exer- 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 253 

cise, these emotions are always overwrought. This 
excess is greater or less in degree, according to the 
temperament and disposition of the person. They 
tend to extravagance and to an abandon that invari- 
ably overthrows the equilibrium of healthy life. Every 
such act unhinges some door to the temple of health, 
and leaves some function of life exposed to the rav- 
ages of distorted action. Under such circumstances as 
these, sickness approaches at a rapid pace. By every 
such distorted act, the entire system is outraged, there- 
fore the sickness engendered is many sided. In the 
indulgence of the animal or sensuous propensities, the 
seeds of every form of physical sickness are sown. 
Through the corresponding distortion of the mental 
emotions, the same result ensues with even greater 
force. Indeed, in every such experience the action 
of the emotions is in advance of the results, for the 
mind plans and the bodily functions and propensities 
execute the plan. Safety for the body, therefore, rests 
in a suitable control of the mind. As the mind has its 
real base in spiritual understanding, it is fully capable 
of leading all the outer propensities aright and thus 
avoiding these undesirable results. 

Some appear to think that it is only in the extreme 
use of the terms of erroneous action that such adverse 
results are to be expected. These usually claim, that 
the milder forms of indulgence are entirely safe, even 
desirable, as indicating a fuller and therefore better 
life, here. But the difference is only in degree. Each 
act of a kind leads in the same direction. 
There are grades and degrees in each form of sick- 
ness, as well as in the acts that lead to it. Every over- 



254 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

indulgence, either physical or mental, reproduces the 
character of its action in a reaction, which will under- 
mine and destroy that with which it is associated. This 
rule holds good wath all action that is in any way ab- 
normal. The over-indulgence need not be the most 
extreme, the deepest iniquity, or even iniquity at all. 

The idea of indulgence with a selfish motive is an 
abnormal act of the mind. It prompts the selfish 
propensities to a corresponding physical indulgence, 
in which the equilibrium of the nervous system is tem- 
porarily overthrown. Then, the entire physical econ- 
omy suffers. It may be the whiskey bottle; an elab- 
orate dinner not at all needed for nourishment; the 
wee smaf hour dance oft repeated; or a box of cara- 
mels. So long as it is oz/^r-indulgence it tends toward 
an unbalancing of the forces of both mind and body. 
In the swiftly moving current, here, the cataract is 
not far ahead ; and the further we go the stronger the 
suction of the dangerous waters. But, through proper 
exercise of the better qualities of thought and feeling, 
we can rise higher and let the turbulent, roaring stream 
of sensuous pleasures pass beneath us without harm. 
It is all a matter of choice and application. The full 
power can be realized through the exercise of 
judgment. 

As every one knows, the emotion of anger instantly 
causes the body to take on the semblance of a sick 
person. In the majority of cases, if continued, it will 
result in sickness. Even the most extreme forms of 
distress, of sickness and even of disease itself will 
result from different degrees of this distorted mental 
emotion. Anger actually decomposes the blood. 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 255 

Sometimes the iron can be tasted. The mind is 
responsible for every such feature of disturbance. 
Bodies, alone, do not become angry. Neither do they 
become sick, of themselves alone. There is always 
some action of a mind involved in the erroneous doings, 
or sickness does not develop. 

Fear, also, is an emotion based upon errors in think- 
ing. It dries up the circulation, v^ithers tissue, un- 
strings nerves, paralyses nerve-centers and renders 
the entire body unfit for use in ordinary ways. Fear 
destroys the equilibrium, first of the mind, then of the 
body. It leads to every variety of sickness and of dis- 
ease. Eventually, if continued, it will result in death, 
which is merely the separation of the two phases of 
being, the physical and the mental. 

Avarice also has its own phases of abnormal action 
in the mind, and these phases are reproduced in the 
bodily tissue. Penury none the less so. Grief ties up 
in knots and so strains muscular tissue as to simulate 
disease in many severe forms. The instances where 
grief has been followed by sickness are too numerous to 
need mention; and almost every one knows of in- 
stances where instantaneous death has occurred from 
no other known or apparent cause. 

Every disturbance in either the physical body or 
the sensuous thinking is the result of an overwrought 
or an overindulged emotion. These are all faults of 
the mind and they must be set right there, ere the 
physical conditions can be expected to show the right 
colors. A mind that is in harmony with its own laws 
will produce a perfectly balanced nervous system, and 
a body that is healthy in all respects. Then the vari- 



256 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

ous functions of both mind and body will respond only 
to action that is right, and all the emotions will repro- 
duce right feelings, thus multiplying the harmonies of 
life upon the earth. 

In these and many similar ways, sickness is pro- 
duced directly through wrong use of the emotions. 
There are innumerable ramifications of all these phases 
of disturbed and overwrought emotional action that 
offer channels through which every known variety of 
sickness can and does come to mankind. Indeed, it 
may be doubted whether sickness ever develops in any 
way entirely independent of the emotional nature. The 
emotions and the nerve-centers are so closely associated 
in action that what takes place in one of them is cer- 
tain to be repeated in the other. When for any reason 
emotion is turned into unsteady or unbalanced chan- 
nels, some abnormal state of the nervous system in- 
variably results because of the violation of the natural 
laws of life. 

On the contrary, however, when the emotions are 
maintained under control in perfect equilibrium of ac- 
tion and responsive to pure reason, the entire nervous 
system is an instrument for their true expression. This 
will assure a state of harmony in the bodily action to 
be maintained for all the purposes of personal life. 
This, in turn, will establish a condition of health, be- 
cause the harmony of mind and body, acting together 
as one, will be sustained in the equilibrium of the emo- 
tional nature, and the right operations of mentality will 
produce strong, healthy physical action as their count- 
erpart in the activities of personal life. The man who 
carries a steady poise of the emotions of his being, 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 257 

possesses a sound nervous system and a healthy 
physique. 

The next consideration, here, is the matter of a 
possible cure. If the maintaining of a nervous and 
emotional balance results in the continuance of health, 
and the loss of equilibrium results in sickness, can the 
perfect balance be restored and the condition of health 
be regained? Yes, the re-establishing of the lost 
equilibrium will produce this result. 

Emotion is a mode of operation of the mind main- 
tained v^hile it deals with feeling as a supposed real 
and necessary feature of life. Its highest action 
is an activity of the soul, where the true appre- 
ciation of reality and truth prevails in all understand- 
ing. It is therefore permanently established on the 
soul-plane of being, as a mode and means of realiza- 
tion OF THE BEAUTY AND GOODNESS OF REALITY. From 

this fountain of sparkling waters the mind draws all of 
its real emotional feeling, and brings it forward to the 
earth plane. There it becomes a mental realization of 
Truth. In the soul-activities emotion is always pure 
and true. In the mental operations it should always up- 
hold the right in every act of outward experience. This 
might be done by everyone; but those who maintain, 
on the mental plane, the perfect balance of soul recog- 
nition are few in number, and those who continue the 
harmonious feeling outward to the physical plane of the 
nervous system are still fewer. Probably this is in- 
evitable in the present state of personal development. 
The individual who can sustain this equilibrium on 
all three of these planes is the true healer — the Christ 
of his time — for his entire thinking is of truth; his 



258 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

feeling is a full recognition of that which is real and 
of the purity of its qualities; his every emotion leads 
both himself and others upward to wholeness of un- 
derstanding, and this is the acme of health. 

Few, perhaps, in this life, ever reach or exhibit this 
height of life and its action. This fact, however, need 
not deter the aspirant to higher understanding. There 
are almost countless degrees of realization and its con- 
sequent power that are below this high standard, but 
that yet are within the pale of a true healing power. 
All of these degrees of power will be recognized, felt, 
and received with joy upon the personal plane of earth- 
life, where people suffer from error and know not how 
to obtain health. To "but touch the hem of the gar- 
ment" of the Messiah who knows wholeness and there- 
fore embodies health in every thought and feeling, is 
the greatest joy and satisfaction to one of these 
sufferers. 

The knowledge of the soul is the real power that 
heals. The "moving of the spirit upon the waters" is 
the mode of spiritual healing. This is the emotion of 
the soul. It never strives for self-satisfaction or be- 
comes distorted in abnormal seeking for independent 
pleasures, but it remains within the conscious whole- 
ness of understanding, and in entire purity of purpose 
it leads always to higher ground through the exercise 
of right feeling. True emotion, therefore, is always a 
powerful healing influence. Every high emotion con- 
tains a healing essence; and however it may be exer- 
cised, that application of it becomes a real healing 
method. But, great care must be exercised here. The 
mind is altogether too prone to take the bare statement 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 259 

that ''emotion" is a healing influence, and so turn to the 
lower fields of sensuous emotional thinking and dream 
of health to come through copious draughts of selfish 
gratification. This is a field of the deepest illusion and 
amidst its darksome delusions no true healing power 
exists. The soulful emotions abound in health and in 
healing; but the sensuous emotions lead in exactly an 
opposite direction. What is commonly considered emo- 
tion, therefore, is not desirable to cultivate, for even 
though it contain a semblance of healing, through tem- 
porarily bringing one's desires nearer to a seeming 
realization, it is a semblance only and ends in delusion 
deeper than before. That which is not right itself 
cannot lead to the right. Faith in it can only sink one 
deeper in illusion. The value of faith rests entirely in 
the reality of its object. 

The mind may bring the full realization of the 
soul's emotional forces forward onto the plane of men- 
tality, and so develop almost superhuman powers of 
healing. Commonly it does not do this, but, instead, it 
tempers what it does bring with it, in the water of per- 
sonal opinion instead of in the oil of spiritual under- 
standing. Thus the power of the true emotion is lost 
and the mind supplies its own self-confidence in place 
thereof. We cannot safely trust these self-assertive 
but external powers, for they do not contain the es- 
sence of true emotion^ and all of their feelings mis- 
lead us. 

Apply, now, these features of understanding to the 
act of healing. When a case comes for helpful influ- 
ence, first observe its features of action. In what ways 
do they deviate from the norm of a well balanced 



860 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

life? Recognition of this will show what law of life 
is actually misinterpreted, and how it occurs. Note 
carefully its mental features. What are the emotional 
phases of thought that are associated with the trouble- 
some conditions that require the healing influence? 
When these are accurately learned, apply the remedy. 
First set aside the wrong idea by dealing with it 
negatively in a way suited to show the nothingness of 
its seeming reality. Then bring the true idea before 
the mind, and establish its right feeling in the realizing 
sense of consciousness. This change of idea will change 
the entire emotion with regard to the life and its con- 
ditions. The false emotions that before were continu- 
ing the unbalanced conditions, will be replaced with 
the true emotions that contain life multiplied in every 
true feeling. While it is true that the emotion deter- 
mines the feeling, here, yet the feeling is sustained in 
an even balance by reason, which is established and 
maintained under careful judgment. The result is a 
condition of the mind that embodies health in all its. 
thoughts on the subject. 

Not every thought that is based on faith, or 
which exists in love, so-called, nor yet the one which 
in the loudest tones asserts the deepest reverence, is 
either the truest or the most reliable in time of trouble. 
All depends upon the real nature of the object of faith, 
love or reverence. For the character of the thought 
will inevitably partake of the nature of the object of its 
emotional feeling. Thus the most intense emotion may 
fall short or fail utterly of accomplishing the desired 
purpose. The only sure way is to be entirely certain 
of the ideas at the base of the action planned, deter- 



EMOTION, IN SICKNESS AND IN CURE. 261 

mine the qualities, and regulate all feelings about them 
according to the actual facts. In this mode of under- 
standing the emotions of sensuous thinking will be set 
aside, and those of the mind will be so attuned to the 
qualities of the soul that the mind will act in unison 
with true feeling, thus establishing and continuing the 
healing influence of harmony and wholeness. 

Each form of sickness can be studied in this way. 
Both an abnormal feeling and a distorted emotion are 
always present and will be found exerting some im- 
portant influence in the mind, else the sickness of the 
body would not be present. In the spiritual counter- 
part of that emotion rests absolutely its true remedy. 
It may be transferred through the understanding and 
established in the place of the useless illusion of error 
that contains no substance. 

This is a true heaHng — effective, permanent, and 
real. It is a substitution of real feeling for emotional 
sentiment. As the feeling is real he who experiences 
it gains reality in the feeling and is healed. But look 
well to the object of thought, here, as before suggested, 
for the fatal mistake is continuously being made of 
calling every sentiment a true emotion and declaring 
all emotion good and desirable. Too many healing sys- 
tems of the present time are constructed on this fatal 
delusion. They are before the world as so-called scien- 
tific or religious ''cures," but they are simply emotional 
curing systems that never heal anyone or anything. 
They change feelings but often only from one degree 
to another of the same unreal character. 

Emotion is one of the highest curative powers, but 
it must be understood to be the pure and changeless 



262 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

emotion of right feeling toward reality^ or the 
statement cannot be true and may be misleading. With 
ever}- emotion of the soul there is an accompanying 
feeling that accurately defines the emotion in its nature, 
character, and purpose. Also with every emotional 
thought of the mind, a feeling goes into every action ; 
and this shows the nature of the thought, the charac- 
ter of the emotion, and the purpose to which it can be 
put, in life. 

A suitable study of these things will aid in under- 
standing the nature of man, his powers and his 
abilities, and will help to avoid many of the pitfalls 
prepared by the sensuous nature. 

By virtue of his real nature man is a holy being. 
He loves truth, but is so allured by the senses and 
sense-reasoning that he often passes it by in pursuit 
of a shining substitute. Nowhere is this exemplified 
in a more glaring manner than in his estimation and 
judgment of the emotional nature. 

True emotion is the response of the soul and mind 
to the pure feeling of the Divine heart — the love of 
God for Man. 



XVII 

Self-Control and Health 



Chapter XVII. 
SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 

In a life of such varied sensations, emotions and 
activities as this personal existence abounds with, the 
matter of self-control often becomes a serious prob- 
lem. Every one admits that it is a desirable attain- 
ment, and some consider it entirely essential to success 
in any undertaking. 

Probably most persons suppose that they are fully 
capable of exercising self-control whenever it becomes 
necessary. Many, however, find it more difficult than 
they had anticipated, and there are examples in in- 
stances where the attempt is almost if not quite a 
failure. On the other hand, there are individuals who 
exhibit the full power, with perfect success, even under 
most trying circumstances. 

When rightly considered these widely varying con- 
ditions, powers and results suggest that there should 
be a better understanding of the subject and more 
practical knowledge of the workings of the power that 
is involved. By means of a suitable study of the facul- 
ties that apply in personal life, these accomplishments 
are available. 

In beginning a study of this order, a knowledge of 
the nature of the "self" is of primary importance. The 
idea of self relates to the individual's own conception 
of being, in its connection with consciousness. It takes 

265 



266 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

form as "self" whenever we become conscious of living, 
having being and exercising choice in action. This 
turns the thought-action into a personal channel, and 
the conception of 'T myself," becomes established. 

The highest conception, here, is the pure ideal of the 
real man, who exercises the consciousness of the real- 
ity within which enables him to be conscious and de- 
termines him as m.an. The full meaning of the idea 
'T am," then takes form in conscious thinking, and an 
actual self appears to have come into existence. This 
conception continues as a superior ideal of self-being. 
To each one it seems to be his own self. While he 
dAvells upon the facts that he is conscious and possesses 
the power to act according to his own choice, this is 
man's highest conception of being. He attaches his 
ideal to his conception and calls it himself. 

The wholeness of consciousness, if properly con- 
ceived as an idea, helps him to take high ground, here, 
and miaintain his ideal of selfhood as pure individual- 
it}'. I am, I am conscious, I am real, I am within real- 
it}' — these are pure ideas of original consciousness. 
They are high, real, and substantial. The truth on 
which they rest is universal. 

But this idea of self-being is alluring. Continual 
dwelling upon it leads to a forgetting of the united 
whole in which the consciousness had its conception, 
and so enlarges the idea of an actual seltTiood, that it 
soon occupies the entire horizon of conscious thought. 
This brings a notion of separateness in consciousness, 
and the inverted idea of a separate seltTiood that is or 
can be independent of all but itself, becomes estab- 
lished in the personal mind as the chief fact of the 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 267 

individual's own life and being. This seeming now 
assumes the proportions of a personal selfhood. 

This idea is an exact inversion of the original and 
real conception; and in this inversion all the qualities 
as well as the thoughts evolved, share alike. Every 
action and every seeming quality is negative. When 
this abnormal view of life and of the self is entertained, 
the actual reality of the other or positive phase assumes 
a mere appearance to the mind which indulges the 
illusion. In the simulated self-idea the genuine power 
of the original becomes a mere sensuous weakness. 

This brings us to the point of a necessity for self- 
control. Before this it was not especially needed ; for 
all action proceeded from consciousness which was 
whole, and to each unit was all-sufficient. It still is so 
to each one on that plane of consciousness. But on the 
outer plane of self-centered thinking, no such sup- 
port exists. Here, because of erroneous reasoning and 
the influence of sense, each mind is open to illusion. 
In order to avoid the results of error that appear in 
nearly every line of action that can be pursued, there- 
fore, self-control, in every act, becomes imperative. 

The various ways in which self-control is called for 
and may be exerted in daily life, are in themselves a 
study. They really cover all the features of personal 
existence. In every act of human life better results are 
obtained by exercising a sturdy control over all the 
self-propensities, than by allowing either the mind or 
the body to work unrestrained. Because this idea of 
selfhood is erroneous, the mind always tends, to some 
extent, in the wrong direction. A firm mental atti- 
tude, together with an efficient control of the thinking 



268 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

faculties and a careful directing of the reasoning pro- 
cesses, is the only means of avoiding moves that would 
not be advisable, and decisions that might lead to 
disaster. 

In the regulating of the affairs of life, many ten- 
dencies of the mind that have become established by 
previous experience can be set aside, or they can be 
overcome entirely, by a proper control of the thinking 
faculties. Often there is great advantage in such a 
course of procedure. 

In the thought-action of the external self, one of 
the strongest tendencies is to follow the lead of the 
senses. These are never unqualifiedly right in their 
action, therefore they can never lead us confidently in 
a right course. But the influence in their direction 
seems so strong that it is almost impossible to think 
differently. Here, if anything is to be accomplished 
rightly, the mind m.ust be guided by a higher under- 
standing. The selfish propensities must be placed un- 
der subjection, and a full and forcible control must be 
exercised continuously over every wrong tendency. 

This calls for self-control of a high order. It may 
be applied to the transaction of business, to the estab- 
lishing of relations between persons, to a professional 
pursuit, to the discovery of something either mental or 
physical, to the conveying of information to certain 
sources to the exclusion of others where it is not de- 
sirable that the communications should go, or to guid- 
ing the actions of others. It may relate to appetite,, 
indulgence, laziness, indifference, passion, covetous- 
ness, desire, fear, or any of the emotions or their pro- 
pensities — in fact to any phase of life and action in the 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 269' 

universe. No matter what or where the call to action, 
the mind must be obedient to the higher nature; the 
senses must be under the direction of the mind; and 
the self-being that uses all of these must be under ab- 
solute control of the intelligence, in order that affairs 
may be directed aright and purposes accomplished 
without obstruction or delay. Nothing but self-control 
can make all of this certain ; for if the self works unre- 
strained no faculty or function can be directed, and in 
that event all action will take place under impulse of the 
tendency that happens to hold the field at that moment. 

When the thought involved in investigation or in 
use relates to the body, or to the mind in any of its 
phases of action which refer to personal form or func- 
tion, it comes within the category of sickness 
or of health. Then the matter of self-control 
has a vast field for operation, and its ministra- 
tions are of immediate importance in many ways. 
Health, comfort and even life may hinge upon a single 
deliberate act of self-control never before realized as 
existing or necessary. With a moment's thought any 
one can supply instances to illustrate this variety of 
experiences, perhaps from his own life. The value, at 
such a time, of having the powers of "self-being" so 
under control that any undesirable action can be 
stopped and a necessary one supplied and put into ef- 
fective operation, is beyond estimation. Of course, all 
thinkers recognize these facts. They are mentioned 
here only as leading up to a study of how to accom- 
plish the desired results. 

When the fact is fully realized that the real self 
is a being composed of intelligence which is spiritual 



270 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

in all ways, and that he possesses the normal powers of 
spiritual understanding, always at his command to 
use on any plane of his existence, it is easy to see that 
either illusions or mistakes on the outer plane can be 
successfully corrected. This brings sufficient confidence 
to enable one to act. All action for the purpose should 
be conducted from the plane of this high estate. Then 
anything that is legitimate can be accomplished. 

The so-called higher self is the real self, and any 
mode of action that becomes established with man on 
that plane, will reflect outward through the external 
expressions and repeat itself in the shadow forms of 
the lower appearances. Thus the apparently separate 
self, will come under the higher influence of true un- 
derstanding and be led into better actions. 

The notion of weakness, when prominent in the 
external thinking, can be entirely offset by the realiza- 
tion of the fact that infinite strength is the source of 
and a necessary factor in the powers of the real self. 
All of these are spiritual, in substance and in activity. 
Knowing these, the mere appearance on the external 
plane will be disregarded and will soon disappear. 

Self-control, exerted to the extent of intelligent 
directing of the thinking so that the illusion shall not 
be accepted, and turning the full force of realizing 
thought onto the idea and conception of the real, is the 
most important acquirement, here, for it will give the 
individual complete mastery over the circumstances. 
To know that all actual thinking is conducted from the 
plane of reality and that the plane of personality only 
reflects the action of the other, is to realize a master- 
ful control over all appearances. 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 371 

We are not subjects of compulsion by means o£ 
sensuous appearance, or of mere thoughts. The power 
of control rests with ourselves. It is to be exercised 
only through understanding. We can think whatever 
we choose to think, within the pale of the law, if we 
understand reality, and know the use of truth in daily 
life. Even though we function on an outer plane, we 
can think entirely according to the principles of the 
inner and higher plane of permanent reality. Indeed,^ 
no sound or effective thinking can be accomplished in 
any other way. 

All principles belong to the plane of spiritual intelli- 
gence. There are no real principles of separate sen- 
suous life. Without any real principle for a founda- 
tion, a thought cannot be either real or true. Appear- 
ance cannot be greater than the reality which it only 
appears to be. The "real" was first, as an idea. From 
the beginning it was whole and complete. It has al- 
ways remained so. The other is merely a simulacrum, 
necessarily incomplete, less in substance and in power. 
It is not the prime mover in anything real, and it has no 
controlling power. 

For these and similar reasons one who bases his 
thinking in the real nature and essence of the true self, 
grasps the helm and may steer as he will. He deter- 
mines the lines of his thinking and holds a perfect con- 
trol over all the forces of his self-being on every plane. 
The actions of personal life fall easily under his more 
intelligent guidance. He controls influences without 
appearing to do so, and without effort ; for his habitual 
thinking according to natural law, establishes the ac- 
tivity of the law within all his thoughts. Self-control, 



272 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

whether of appetite, emotion, desire or action, is easy 
under these circumstances, even though it be impossi- 
ble by any other means. 

In all the conditions of life, where a failure to 
exercise suitable control has brought about abnormal 
conditions, the remedy is easiest and most readily ap- 
plied through an attitude in mind that is based wholly 
on the higher imderstanding, where we may realize that 
all reality of life is spiritual, perfect and changeless, 
therefore cannot be harmed. This especially includes 
the opinions comm.only entertained about sickness and 
the idea of health. 

Sickness is always an abnormal condition. It de- 
velops physically because of wrongly based thoughts 
about life, its functions and activities. To remove these 
abnormal views, and restore normal mental conditions, 
is to re-establish health in the place of sickness. Even 
on the outer plane, and in thinking, which is entirely 
superficial, and selfish, the idea of health is more pow- 
erful than that of sickness ; because, as an idea it is 
founded upon wholeness and has its origin in the real 
consciousness of spiritual understanding. In the think- 
ing world it represents the eternal fact of man's whole- 
ness, and consequent perfection of being. 

The mind perceives that health should be man's 
condition in earth life. When the thought thus flows 
in normal channels and the individual entertains right 
ideas, the body does not generate morbific conditions. 
The harmonious state of the action of the mind which 
deals with real ideas, reproduces itself in healthy 
conditions. 

There are some physical conditions that will pass 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 273 

from one body to another by means of physical contact 
alone ; but this is only where gross physical conditions 
prevail, that are the result of gross mental states. They 
are received the most readily by those who think sensu- 
ously and entertain the crudest beliefs about reality, 
recognizing it as belonging only to animal action. 

Those whose trust and realizing thought is con- 
stantly in unison with the real phases of life and being, 
are less liable to the adverse influences on the external 
plane. With these a fair amount of self-control, exer- 
cised for the purpose of rightly directing the conscious 
thinking, will assure immunity from any action 
that can be understood sufficiently to offset its aggres- 
sive features both consciously and subconsciously. 
The absolute degree of this living action in intelligent 
consciousness is a complete immunity from all bane of 
material influence. The divine understanding is not 
subject to contagion. 

On the plane of personal thinking, the influence of 
views and opinions that are contrary to the laws and 
principles of true life is constantly being brought before 
us. The most of these views, if indulged, will result 
in sickness, or in disturbed conditions which tend in 
that direction, for the community if not for a particu- 
lar person. Here the wrong influence must be set 
aside. Its impulses and tendencies must be resisted at 
every turn. The views all relate to selfhood and the 
personal life ; therefore self-control is the mainstay in 
defense. Without this the entire line is defenseless. 
But maintain a full control of self and direct your 
thinking in paths of truth, and nothing on earth can 
overthrow you. The influences on health that other- 



274 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

wise might be derogatory, will all be nullified by the 
higher thinking thai renders the body immune. The 
degree of self-control that is exercised here will have 
much to do with the proportion of success. 

When self-control is perfectly exercised the mind 
and the spirit both are calm, quiet, correspondingly 
clear in understanding and keen in apprehending the 
difficulties. Calmness makes for health, always. 
Clearness in thinking enables us to understand better 
what is required for action; and a better quality of 
results will be obtained than by yielding to the in- 
fluences of sensuous thinking. Self-control is the only 
means through which we may arrive at these results. 
Abandon that and all is lost, for the mind will follow 
the impulses of the unthinking senses, and all manner 
of erroneous impressions will be accepted as truths. 
Sickness lurks at the door, here, and death stalks in the 
shadows. 

But the calm mind realizes a measure of wholeness 
and so is secure in its confidence. Every whole thought 
generates healthful action, and every calm thought ap- 
proaches the realization of wholeness. Health rests 
contentedly in the quiet realization of calmness, and 
Peace is a close companion of both. 

Control the personal self, and the self-propensities 
of the mind will respond to the higher influences. The 
power for good of these better influences will gradu- 
ally bring all under control. This will banish influences 
that tend toward sick conditions and the standard of 
health will thereby be raised. 

One of the worst influences directly subversive o£ 
self-control, is fear. It is, however, merely a mental 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 275 

emotion. From the first evidence of its presence all 
firmness of mind and of character begin to decline. If 
the fear be continued, confidence will soon disappear, 
and self-control will be destroyed. 

Fear, in its many forms, is a most prolific source of 
disease. It directly causes weakness, uncertainty, in- 
definiteness in purpose, doubt, dread and terror. All 
of these and many similar influences operate against 
health in any community. They all militate against life 
itself. A stronger thought-influence will set them 
aside ; but if not properly overcome they will within a 
short time, varying with the circumstances, reproduce 
their morbid influences. Then what appears to be an 
actual sickness will appear. A firm control of each 
lower impulse will soon place these unruly members of 
personal thought under subjection. Then health may 
have another opportunity to demonstrate its vitality. 

Self-control is the best of the health-giving elements 
of the mind. It supplies some features of strength 
that are not so readily recognized as the direct results 
of quietude. Quiet, peace and confidence, always rest 
underneath every forceful act of the mind. 

Self-control itself, as an operative function of in- 
telligence, contains all of the strength-producing ele- 
ments of mentality, mingled with the quiet and 
peace of perfect confidence. It brings together again 
in oneness and wholeness all the scattered forces, 
which, while operating separately, militate against 
healthy life. Self-control is the outcome of a correct 
apprehending of the true nature and powers of the 
soul. It enables us to withstand the errors and sophis- 
tries of sensuous thinking. This leads to a re-estab- 



276 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

lishing of the real spiritual forces, as the operating 
powers of individual life. The calm confidence that 
pervades the soul in this realization, assures a healthy 
response of the mental nature and a healthful repro- 
duction of all forces on the physical plane. Health for 
both mind and body will generate from these realiza- 
tions. Self-control yields all of these results. 

The license of thought that is based in unrestrained 
thinking, is directly responsible for the most of sick- 
ness, error, delusion and untimely death. Whenever 
self-control is reestablished and the qualities of real- 
ity and harmony are restored to the thinking, there is 
an immediate response in every feature of the corporeal 
system. Under the evenly balanced action of self- 
control, health is sustained; but with unrestrained 
thinking in any of the many personal channels of selfish 
w^ays, ill conditions, mental, physical or both com- 
bined, will inevitably prevail. 

Self-control is also a powerful sustaining influence 
in time of approaching trouble. Remaining calm in 
mind, and maintaining confidence in the superior pow- 
ers and their continued goodness, the qualities of the 
higher self are at hand and ready for instant use. Thus 
they act as guards and prevent adverse influences from 
impressing the sense-consciousness. The full bucket 
receives no water and the busy loom gathers little 
dust. 

Self-confidence will aid in all of this, but the con- 
fidence must be rightly placed in the true realization. 
Then there will be nothing to fear. 

In the harmony and wholeness of this self-confident 
attitude toward realit}', sickness cannot endure. Self- 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 277 

control, therefore, of the right kind, is sure to be ac- 
companied by health, provided other influences are 
equal. 

When the individual loses his self-control, some of 
the lower emotions or passions rise at once and as- 
sume control over all action. The spectacle that usually 
presents itself under these circumstances, demonstrates 
both the quality and the character of the proceeding. 
Even under the best of circumstances it is deplorable. 

The number of cases and variety of conditions of 
sickness and disease, even the most virulent, that de- 
velop from such sources of action as this, is absolutely 
appalling. Indeed it is safe to assume that every in- 
stance of such distorted action brings, either seen or 
unseen, its corresponding form and proportionate de- 
gree of abnormal action in both body and mind. These 
conditions also transfer to other minds, both near and 
far, wherever a connecting link in person or in thought 
may exist. There they breed in proportion to the con- 
geniality of the soil where they enter, and engender 
anew their tendencies to abnormal action. 

The difference in results, here, is only a difference 
in degree. The character of the action is the impelling 
force for good or for ill. The adverse influence of 
such lines of action on the health of the individual, is 
almost beyond conception. As health means a normal 
state of action for both the body and the mind, it is 
plain to see that no degree of healthful influence can 
be expected from such modes of action. The entire 
influence militates against health; and this influence 
extends to all who come in contact with the element 
of thought that produces the action. 



278 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

The entire influence of uncontrolled thought and 
act is baneful, and an impediment to the entire world. 
When millions allow such mentality to develop in their 
daily lives, can we conceive the probable psychic 
results ? 

On the other hand, when the mind is exercised un- 
der self-control, every faculty and function, mental and 
physical, develops its fullest power in quiet forceful- 
ness, and all of its actions are normally right. The in- 
fluence then expands in harmony of action, in all di- 
rections, and to all who can receive harmonious influ- 
ences and interpret their character. In this expansion 
of the good, there is a holy power for advancement; 
and every one who feels the influence takes higher 
ground in his future actions. The results in the direc- 
tion of health are equally important, especially in the 
mental phases; for one who is mentally normal is far 
more likely to be a good citizen than he whose mind is 
led or controlled by abnormal conditions or influences. 

The good, the pure and the true, as qualities of 
thought are influences in the direction both of right- 
eousness and of health alike. The influence extends to 
every field of action and every pathway in life. All 
phases of the being of each one, therefore, are amen- 
able to the uplifting suggestions of right thinking. 
The health of the body, the powers of the mind, and 
the qualities of the soul are all included in the advanc- 
ing movement, and all share the elevating influence. 

On every plane health is the simplest of the results 
of pure thinking and right desire. When these are 
exercised under an efficient degree of self-control we 
may be assured of success and advancement in every 



SELF-CONTROL AND HEALTH. 279. 

endeavor. In both thought and feeHngs, self-control 
assures health, power, content and ability for action. 

It is better to control oneself than to overthrow 
nations. 

Harmony and Peace comprise the health of 
humanity. 



XVIII 

Curative Thought 



Chapter XVIII. 
CURATIVE THOUGHT. 

In considering the subject of health, the question 
that is uppermost in the mind of the average individual 
is : What means of cure may exist adequate for the ills 
with which human beings appear to be afflicted? 
Those who are familiar with the variety and extent 
of the maladies from which people suffer, and also the 
poor success achieved by the various modes of treat- 
ment of the materialistic schools of the day, can readily 
understand the active interest shown when a new sys- 
tem or plan for the helping of humanity by curing its 
ills appears for examination, or is submitted for a test 
of its merits. This is natural, for all are seeking real 
help in the usual channels, and few obtain even a 
modicum of satisfaction. 

The system which is set forth in this work, as all 
readers will understand, is based entirely upon the 
agency and power of systematic thinking. The main 
claims made thus far for the system are, that disease is 
mental, in both origin and character, and that its right 
remedy must therefore be a mental one. If one of 
these statements is true, the other must also be true, 
for either one is the necessary corollary of the other. 
They will stand or fall together. 

Thought action considered as a remedy, then, 
might be called the theme of this paper. But this par- 
ticular feature has already received considerable at- 

283 



284 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

tention. What seems most important here, therefore, 
is the quality and kind of thought that will produce 
the actual healing influence. We need to understand 
what thoughts contain the healing agency, why it is so, 
and how to use them. The full discussion of all of 
these points would require more space than can be 
given in a single paper, but we can examine each to 
some extent. Opinions somewhat at variance have 
been advanced on these points by different investiga- 
tors, but some ideas have been demonstrated to an 
extent sufficient to prove their correctness, therefore 
they will be adhered to, with all due respect for the 
opinions of honest investigators who may have thought 
differently. 

A curative thought, as described throughout this 
paper, means : A distinct conception of an idea which 
shall establish in the mind of the thinker a mode of 
action that can be transferred to the mind of one who 
needs help ; and which, when received, shall contain the 
power to so change the action prevailing with the 
sufferer, that his ailment will disappear and a healthy 
condition take its place. The prevailing methods of 
thinking do not agree with such a theory, but there are 
various reasons why the method and its theory are 
correct and feasible. The following are some of them : 

(a) There are innate ideas which contain a healing 
influence. To be able to use them with force and abil- 
ity, it is only necessary to apprehend and fully under- 
stand them. 

(b) These ideas may be comprehended by any- 
one who will suitably prepare his mind for them. 
Freedom to think according to the principles contained 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 285 

within the ideas, is the chief requirement in this 
preparation. 

(c) The proper understanding of an idea estab- 
lishes its activities in the mind as modes of thinking; 
and the thoughts thus engendered convey the force of 
the ideas which they represent, in proportion to the 
degree of clearness with which they are apprehended. 

(d) An idea that contains the activities which 
evolve the healing power, will impart that power to the 
mind of anyone who comprehends its qualities and 
recognizes the principles that dominate the activities. 
Nothing can prevent this result. It is the natural work- 
ing of the law which regulates the assimilating of 
ideas, which in their nature are spiritual, by the mind 
in its mental processes. 

(e) The mind that has assimilated ideas and con- 
ceptions of this character and quality and become able 
to understand them thoroughly, can, by the energy 
displayed in thinking, bring the activities of their prin- 
ciples into definite form for a specific purpose and 
direct the thought whither it pleases, within the com- 
pass of the universal mind. No other force exists to 
interfere with this power. The individual is abso- 
lute master of his own thinking and controls the field 
of action. The only requirement is the adequate de- 
gree of understanding. 

(f) A thought evolved in this way and sent on its 
errand, is a genuine healing influence with which no 
other mode or method of thinking can compare. 

(g) When such a thought is intelligently directed 
to a particular person, it will transfer by natural law 
to the mind of the one for whom it is intended. When 



2S6 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 



received there it becomes a healing influence in exact 
ratio to the truthfulness of its representation of the 
idea from which it proceeds. 

When the ideas : truth, realitv. life, strensth and 
power, together with the activities that contain health- 
ful influences are realized by the healer, the act of real- 
ization becomes a healing force active within the 
mind. When exercised under the guidance of the un- 
limited intelligence of the higher spiritual essence, this 
force may be transmitted through thought-transference, 
and will manifest the active healing power of the spirit. 
When a right mental communication is established, the 
intelligence of such a thinker will spontaneously de- 
velop a healing influence. Intention makes it more 
direct, but not more powerful or more real. 

These are the natural results of the usual opera- 
tions of the mind when it deals with ideas of this order. 
They are always open to all individuals and may be 
received by each according to his own development. 

The fundamental idea of all healing action is whole- 
ness. The methods and processes advanced by some 
would-be teachers and expounders of theories of heal- 
ing by mental and so-called spiritual means appear to 
indicate that this fact is not fully realized, or else that 
it is ignored, perhaps for more attractive or more al- 
luring ways of dealing with personalities. Neverthe- 
less, the fact cannot well be refuted that the genuine 
healing philosophy, as it has been known throughout 
the entire period of history, has had for its basis the 
conception of "wholeness" as the fundamental fact of 
all being, and of the constitution of man as a true 
representative of ultimate being. 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 287 

Some persons talk glibly of oneness as a principle 
in philosophy, but they describe it in such an amazing 
plurality of terms, that a proper conception of its 
presumed wholeness is obscured. This indicates that 
the idea with which they deal is "one of many" rather 
than the conception of an "all inclusive one'^ which is 
the true idea, and the only view of the subject that can 
contain any suggestion of wholeness as a quality. No 
suggestion of actual wholeness of idea, conception 
or action, appears in the philosophies thus presented. 
These and similarly equipped systems can exercise, at 
the best, only a personal influence over the minds 
of others. The greater depth of real understanding of 
spiritual principles is wanting, therefore genuine heal- 
ing results are beyond the working power of those who 
follow this lower order of thinking. These facts do 
not seem to be well understood, even among prac- 
titioners and teachers of healing methods; and, pre- 
sumably, for this reason each one supposes the system 
which he follows to contain the genuine philosophy. 
The only object for noting these facts here is to help in 
correcting such erroneous opinions as may now exist, 
and to make a right start ourselves in gathering the 
evidences of genuine healing understanding. 

So much good work has already been accomplished 
in mental and spiritual healing, that the fact that a 
genuine healing power exists is beyond question. This 
power is either inherent with certain individuals or is 
to be acquired through the gaining of knowledge. 
Perhaps both of these may be factors, with some cases. 
Close observation shows that when the right knowl- 
edge is obtained the power to heal exists with it; there- 



288 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

fore it would seem to be a matter of understanding. 
This, we claim, is the truth of the matter. The full 
and soulful understanding of the fact of spiritual 
wholeness for man, in the substance and the life of 
being, establishes the conception within the thinking 
processes and in all the forces of the mind. The nat- 
ural expression of this idea in human life, is health, 
which is its prototype. 

This reasoning, based, as it is, in the facts of life, 
shows that the actual foundation of thought which is 
curative in its operations must be the conception of 
WHOLENESS^ which is the fundamental state of all real 
being. It is not something to be attained, but that 
which actually is. We have only to evolve the realiza- 
tion of it. 

The SUBSTANCE of being should next be considered, 
for that is supposed to contain the disease which re- 
quires to be healed. That which is whole in essence 
must be whole also in substance, else the asserted 
wholeness is incomplete; and that destroys all whole- 
ness. The creature that is considered whole in one way 
but not so in another, does not manifest wholeness of 
BEING. Substance which is whole is sound ; and sound- 
ness in life is health. Therefore, because man is whole 
in his being, his substance is sound, and inevitably he 
IS HEALTHY. This refers to his actual being, and not 
to external appearances. But, in any event, external 
manifestation is only mere appearance, for being it- 
self IS REAL, and reality cannot be external. The real 
being of man, therefore, is whole, sound and healthy. 
After all, then, it actually is some phase of appearance, 
of opinion, or of thinking about himself and his own 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 289 

separate conditions, that we have to deal with as 
regards the ideas of sickness and of health or the re- 
quirements* of a healing act. This states a fundamental 
fact about the condition of his health and the necessary- 
healing methods. This, then, is our model in the aim 
to establish curative thought — a man who, considered 
as BEING, is whole, sound and healthy. Not realizing 
these facts, man has indulged other lines of thinking 
until appearances of a different order have been given 
preference as the supposed real conditions of his life 
and being. 

The problem, then, is to restore the thinking to its 
normal activity, both conscious and subconscious, and 
bring man into the light of a right understanding of 
himself. Then his own consciousness will restore all 
parts and phases of his entire being to the state of 
his fundamental perfection. 

This is the true healing for which all should strive. 
The act must begin with the right mode of action, for 
each thought indulged is woven in the fabric. Un- 
sound thoughts do not constitute a healing influence; 
therefore the action must be both sound and whole. 

Whatever may be the case in the plane of appear- 
ances, the reverse is always true of the real Idea. The 
appearance is never real, consequently, no matter what 
the seeming facts may be, the sickness is no part of 
the man. Therefore, during your thinking about his 
views and his seeming conditions hold your idea of the 
individual as pure being — real, whole, sound and 
healthy. Then you can reason rightly, and form 
definite thought-pictures of ideas about the various 
phases of illusion and appearance that are involved 



290 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

in his present condition of error and misunderstanding. 
These ideas will be of such a kind that when trans- 
ferred to his mind they will be accepted there as evi- 
dence of his own higher and more real condition. 
When this is accomplished the adjustment will readily 
be made that shall restore him, in intelligence, to his 
own high estate. This will establish a genuine cure 
of the case. There is no higher, purer or more ef- 
ficient cure for any case that rests upon degeneration 
of ideas ; and this fault is at the bottom of most cases 
of sickness. Man's real being has never been diseased 
and needs no cure. His opinions require to be changed, 
and his modes of action, both mental and physical, that 
are based in wrong conceptions of life, must be read- 
justed. This will constitute a right and efficient cure, 
in all cases. The problem is to determine just what 
wrong mental action is present in a given case. 

Every thought in which there is a true realization 
of the wholeness of the individual being, himself, is a 
forceful agency for his healing. Each conceptive con- 
clusion with regard to a soundness of the substance of 
his being, tends to adjust the subconscious mental ac- 
tion of the patient to the ideal of healthy tissue. This 
is a direct and powerful healing influence. 

The next feature of thinking to command attention 
in the healing processes, is the matter of quality. 
Every idea, thought or thing possesses a quality, which 
determines its usefulness, its value, and its relation to 
others of its genus. Man's being has been determined 
as whole; his substance as sound; and his activities 
as healthy. What are the qualities of these states of 
reality with him? Are they good, bad, or indifferent? 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 291 

And is he god, devil or man? Health is always con- 
sidered desirable, and is rightly cognized as good. 
Sickness always stands as evil, in some undesirable 
form. The thought that would restore health cannot 
carry the action of the opposite understanding. 

To believe that man is bad in quality, is to offset, 
with that delusion, all the effect of the previous realiza- 
tion of his sound qualities. Opposite ideas cannot dwell 
together. Impure qualities cannot go with substance 
that is sound and being that is whole. Imperfect 
soundness, and wholeness that is not pure, are im- 
possible conceptions. 

If man is an imperfect being, he is neither whole 
nor sound; and consequently the individual cannot 
either be or become healthy, for health is always a 
sound wholeness. In the supposed conception of un- 
wholeness as a real condition of being, man does not 
have to go to hell, for hell comes to him in the very 
conception; and while it remains in his consciousness 
the idea represents his state of mind. Then unwhole- 
ness and consequent inharmony will predominate in 
his thinking and in the action of his life. In it he builds 
his own hell and remains in it always miserable. The 
remedy lies in a change of his thought about the ideas 
which constitute life. 

It is the same problem over again — a state of being 
which actually is, and a line of conceptive notions that 
conflict with all facts. These notions, mere opinions, 
require to be adjusted through fair reasoning, to the 
established facts of real being. Then all problems are 
easy. Man is whole, sound, healthy and perfect in all 
his qualities, for that is the character of the source of 



392 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

his being. If these things are not true about him, then 
God did not create or produce him; for in all the 
universe there was no substance, essence, quality or 
being from which to construct him ; not even dirt ; for 
man himself has produced most of the dirt, so-called, 
since his entree to the arena of earth-life. 

In his real being the quality of the man is perfec- 
tion. It cannot be anything less, because of his high 
estate as the created representative of the Perfect 
Whole. Other and different interpretations of human 
life and being appear only through external and per- 
sonal thinking, which rests upon misunderstanding of 
the mighty truths of reality. 

This perverted view of things has been accepted as 
truth by so many individuals that it has become al- 
most the race belief about being and life. Yet it has 
not a foot to stand upon, either in philosophy or in 
science. No one of its tenets can be proved, even to 
a novice in the use of logic. Truth is only one; but 
even billions of false beliefs cannot overthrow it. It 
stands forever inviolate. 

The thought that is adjusted to real healing, there- 
fore, must evolve in its activities the full understanding 
that man is whole, sound, healthy, pure and perfect. 
This is the model. It is not sufficient to merely believe 
the statement that is made. Belief is weak because un- 
centered, and it may yield to other influence at any 
moment. To think these propositions through, until 
their final conclusions stare us in the face as ideas con- 
clusive and unchangeable, is to see the truth with a 
conviction that nothing can ever change. Then we 
know the fact. That is a base for future thinking- 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 293 

Make all thoughts about health for the individual or 
the race conform to all the phases of this high stand- 
ard. Whatever the features of the question in hand, 
as regards health, strength, power, quality or action, 
keep this standard of fundamental reality foremost, and 
form all thoughts about the individual according to 
these facts as principles of life. 

The fundamental truth of the proposition, which is 
truth for all and has been so through all time, will give 
such force to the individual thoughts as to accomplish 
any result possible to the intelligence ; and what act is 
there to be performed in the universe, as regards either 
action or understanding, that is not possible to In- 
telligence ? 

An excellent training to aid in understanding these 
healing propositions is to think forward from these 
fundamental statements as to man's conditions, adding 
to the list already described the qualities of life and of 
being that rise in the thinking and that conform to the 
condition of the fundamental statement. View them 
as factors and features of man as he was created and 
as he now is. Then observe the conditions for which 
the sufferer asks help and healing influence. 

The fact will be noticeable, here, that none of the 
factors of real being and life are contained in any of 
the conditions requiring aid. This fact itself, sug- 
gests that the conditions of sickness are not real. They 
have no substance, no reality, no being. They have 
become prominent in appearance, through erroneous 
thinking followed for ages by generations of indi- 
viduals, all of whom were deceived by the senses and 
by the sense-features of the personal mind, while ig- 



294 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

noring the pure intelligence of the soul and its reflec- 
tion in the higher mind. 

The individual of the present generation simply re- 
peats the mentality of those gone before and fol- 
lows the lead of the senses in the same way. While he 
continues the modes of thinking that generate their 
kind of actions^ he retains the ills and diseases of the 
past. When that erroneous thinking is changed and 
the real conditions established in its place, in the minds 
of the race, the state of health of the present genera- 
tion will improve. When the changed thinking is in- 
stigated with sufficient thoroughness, this will prove 
true for the individual, the community and the race. 

The individual can now establish these changes for 
himself by properly applying his thought. Recog- 
nizing the potent fact that all these conditions requir- 
ing change are unreal, we will set them aside as "noth- 
ing." The act of realizing the fact of their nothing- 
ness, in our formative thinking, gives to them the most 
powerful of denials. That which is nothing is not 
present. There may be an appearance that sense as- 
sumes to be something, but it has no real features and 
it cannot control any conditions. When we know that 
it is nothing, we formulate our thinking according to 
that fact, and leave the supposed ''it" behind. Then 
the corresponding real fact may be affirmed as the true 
state of affairs. The result will be entirely in accord 
with the degree of realization of the truth of both 
statements — negative and positive. 

Believe no error^ but know the truth. This con- 
stitutes the true attitude that should be maintained 
while planning and executing healing formulas. 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 295 

The fact that this line of thinking is formulated in 
logical perfection makes it definite and reliable as an 
agent of corrective action. All the statements of sick- 
ness are extremely illogical. They are also equally in- 
accurate and unreliable. They have their rise in delu- 
sion. Intelligence takes no part in them. 

The further fact that the thinking for a healing 
purpose is based entirely on intelligent realization 
of the truth of the permanent principles, takes the act 
entirely outside the field of mesmeric action, or of 
selfish doings of any kind; for all the desires and in- 
tentions of self-hood must be absolutely set aside be- 
fore the ''realizing'' act can operate in the mentality. 

Merely making a statement, for a purpose, calls 
forth only so much psychic power as goes with the 
speaking of words ; but thinking an idea and repeating 
its activities in the understanding, until the higher 
faculties of intelligence realize its truth and see its full 
relation to the case in hand, is an entirely different 
operation. Here self-purpose is entirely set aside. 
Whatever the logical processes of reasoning lead to and 
the realizing activities show as the actual truth in the 
matter is accepted, and all thinking is made to conform 
to the truth so disclosed. The notion entertained by 
some persons that thinking executed for healing pur- 
poses may be formulated into words for any desired 
purpose, regardless of what the operator may believe 
about the statements made, and therefore that all men- 
tal healing thought is hypnotic, being based upon mere 
suggestion, is a fallacy. If relied upon as a mode of 
action this opinion quickly becomes a delusion. Such 
thinking carries no spiritual force, and its power for 



296 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

healing does not extend beyond the operations of the 
imagination. It is entirely inadequate to the kind or 
degree of actual healing that we have been considering. 

The methods of "Suggestive Therapeutics" as ex- 
plained to the public, savor of the hypnotic plan of 
stating in words whatever is thought to be desirable 
for the one under treatment to believe. But the thought 
really carries only so much actual power as it contains 
of realization of the truth of its statements. The moral 
influence of the psychic recognition of actual truth 
in the act, is most important. This being absent in the 
strictly hypnotic suggestion, the subtle operation of 
thought without a moral base is let loose. Its results 
in a dowmward direction cannot be estimated. Hyp- 
notic suggestion does not take into consideration the 
matter of the fundam.ental truth of a proposition. But 
thought that is really curative, in all phases of life, 
must be and in fact always is based in the truth. It 
operates through a clear realization of the principles 
and real modes of action involved in the matter in hand. 

In realization self-purpose cannot live when it 
ignores the real for that which is only apparent. All 
of the genuine healing that has thus far been accom- 
plished at any time in history, has come about by 
means of mental realization reached by thinking on 
ideas until the fact of their truth and reality became a 
conviction. The rest of the phenomena and demon- 
strations have occurred through the ordinary workings 
of the imagination, or self-limitation of the condition, 
both of which are factors in the recover}^ of some 
cases, under all known systems of cure, physical or 
mental. 



CURATIVE THOUGHT. 297 

Curative thought is such thinking as will or can 
help the individual to change the operations of the 
mind, from erroneous opinions that keep him in the 
delusion of supposed sickness and evil influence, to the 
real and enduring ideas of harmonious life. Such a 
change v^ill always result in the restoration of health. 

A conception of harmony is a healing influence, be- 
cause it brings the mind to a feeling of wholeness. A 
thought of strength replaces weakness in the mind, and 
the body immediately adjusts to its strengthening in- 
fluence. A thought of hope replaces discouragement, 
and the idea of courage, well sustained in the mind, 
dispels fear, doubt, distrust and the entire line of 
lurking distempers of body, mind and moral nature, 
that accompany these abnormal features of personal 
mentality. Every ill condition of the body has a cor- 
responding wrong action in mind; not necessarily 
evil in intention, as moral turpitude, but with each a 
mistaken idea is entertained somewhere. The curative 
thought for cases of this kind is such as will dispel the 
delusion and then supply the real idea, its opposite 
activity, in its place. All curative thought that can be 
applied along these lines is based in reality and its 
operation reproduces the activities of Truth. This 
ideal is the fundamental health of Reality itself. 



XIX 

The Supremacy of Mind 



Chapter XIX. 
THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 

The actual status of the mind in its relation to 
other phases of being and of life, is a question that 
often rises during the discussion of subjects bearing 
upon mental operations. With regard to understand- 
ing the healing powers of the mind, and investigating 
curative processes of thought, this is especially notice- 
able. In matters pertaining to health, the value of a 
thorough knowledge of mind and its operations can- 
not be overestimated ; and when the subject is "healing 
by mental means," such information becomes of para- 
mount importance. The question as to whether the 
mind really possesses a superior ability in any of these 
affairs comes forward early in the investigation. It 
usually proves to be a point for speculative attention, 
not altogether unimportant. 

In what fields of action is the mind a superior 
predominating influence ? 

In what departments of life, if any, is the mind 
supreme in action or in authority ? 

To what extent may the mind safely be trusted, in 
the experiences of daily life ? 

To what phases of mentality, if any, should the 
control of affairs in life be yielded? 

In attempting to determine the range of power, and 
the legitimate operating forces of the mind, these ques- 
tions are vitally important. Correct answers for them 

301 



303 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

must be found, therefore, and the corresponding state- 
ments must be logically proved in all their bearings. 

In considering any of the ideas which bear upon the 
subject of Mental Healing, such questions as these aid 
in determining facts ; and with regard to the matter of 
establishing Practical Health for the people, the nature 
of the mind must be understood and its forces con- 
trolled or no progress will be made. As all matters of 
sickness and of health refer to the mind for judgment, 
regardless of the means of cure, it seems important to 
know its authority, its range of power, and its 
limitations. 

What power that operates in earthly affairs can su- 
persede the mind in matters of health ? Does anything 
that has no mind ever become sick? It requires close 
observation to determine the actual facts on points of 
this kind. 

The five senses appear to rule many of the affairs of 
life. In their own realm, at least, the evidence seems 
to be accurate and authoritative. This is especially 
so with regard to sickness and health. Action that 
takes place within the limits of the senses, is generally 
attributed to a seemingly direct power belonging to 
these instruments themselves. 

Evidences of the supposed power and authority of 
the senses are gathered in various ways. The func- 
tion of feeling exhibits features that are difficult to 
analyze. Sense is expected to report all feeling in ex- 
ternal life ; and the information thus received is usually 
set down as accurate and reliable. But experience and 
observation soon qualify all of these opinions. The 
instruments generally prove inadequate, and often 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 303 

fail altogether. Their evidence should always be sub- 
mitted to the judgment. When thus examined little 
remains of their supposed efficiency. Indeed, when 
carefully examined, each action of any one of the five 
senses proves to be entirely subservient to the mind. 
It can be accurately judged and entirely controlled in 
the exercise of intelligence. 

Whatever the mind determines with regard to the 
feelings, the corresponding sense immediately reports 
as in operation, regardless of the mere facts of sense- 
evidence. Whenever it determines a line of action, 
therefore, or names a sensation, the mental determina- 
tion becomes the master of a sense. This rule is uni- 
versal as regards the interaction of mind and sense. It 
indicates that the mind is supreme on the sense-plane. 
This is the truth about this vexing problem. 

Many have striven unnecessarily to adjust the seem- 
ing inconsistencies between mind and sense. If the 
elements themselves were better understood, their rela- 
tions would be defined more readily. The operations 
of the senses are so prominent m all of these attempts, 
that sense actually seems to possess the field, while the 
mind simultaneously appears to be subservient, and 
obliged to think according to the reports of the senses. 

This delusion is illustrated in the matter of the illu- 
sions of feeling. When a feeling is experienced, the 
person is usually convinced that something tangible is 
before him for consideration. Usually he feels that it 
has been forced upon him, or, at least, that it has come 
to him unbidden, without any knowledge of his own 
that it was to come, or intention that it should come. 
Often it is so distressing and repugnant to him that he 



304 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

feels willing to do almost anything to be rid of it ; but, 
alas ! there is no way known to him, by which it may be 
banished. It is not a vagary or an illusion to be set 
aside, or ignored. "It is a fact." He "feels it." Does 
not that settle the question of a supposed illusion? 
"A feeling, of course, is real." What he feels, he 
knows is "right there" ; "just where he feels it." And it 
is just so ; "exactly as he feels it." There is no doubt 
about it, for the positive evidence of it is in the real 
feeling. He cannot think any differently about it ; and 
"it would not make any difference with these facts if he 
should so think." He feels it ; and "How can any sane 
man doubt what he actually feels ?" 

These and many similar opinions are constantly 
advanced. Probably everyone has thought and per- 
haps expressed some of them. They constitute the 
general opinion about the action of the senses and their 
supposed power to guide and direct man through life, 
by means of real power and authority. 

These views, however, are incorrect. They do not 
rightly express the relation existing between the mind 
and the corporeal senses. These instruments bear no 
accurate evidence, other than the reporting of the pres- 
ence of things and physical conditions. They are not 
instruments of reason or of correct analysis. They can- 
not compel the man or the mind to believe or to think 
according to sensuous evidence. 

On the face of the proposition, the evidence of a 
feeling, considered as a sensation, of either the body or 
the mind, is freely admitted. As a "feeling" it is pres- 
ent in the realm of sensation, and to its own kind it ap- 
pears to be real. That is all that is required, here, for the 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 305 

entire action relates to a plane of seeming, where real- 
ity and power are mere appearance. The idea of its 
dominion is a delusion, alike to itself and to its victim. 
The feeling leads to true statements of condition only 
when the mind accepts it as a sensation and proceeds 
to analyze it for the purpose of determining its 
meaning. 

The feeling itself, is neither master nor servant. It 
is a message, denoting action, and it should receive at- 
tention as such. It comes from a higher source than 
mere external thinking, usually from the subconscious 
plane of the mind; and if rightly received and prop- 
erly interpreted., it will give information which may 
lead to the performing of some important act. To 
interpret personally, here, solely by the evidence of the 
feeling and its mere enjoyableness or distaste to one- 
self, is to lose the entire import of the message; and 
often to fail utterly to recognize a message at all. And 
to determine the mere messenger as a dictator, in au- 
thority, or with power to compel recognition and ac- 
tion, is to render oneself subject to a mere opinion 
based in error. 

The mind is the master here, and rules all action. 
The message comes from the subconscious department 
of the mind itself. It has been formulated and sent to 
the outer department — the conscious thinker in sense 
life — for the purpose of guiding his actions in some 
way needful, or as a protection from some danger that 
threatens in life. If the feeling is a true one, it comes 
with a helpful influence; then failing to receive the 
message or to interpret its meaning, would result in 
serious loss. If the message appears as of a lower 



306 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

order, it still needs careful attention, for it may be a 
"blessing in disguise." Such messages sometimes 
serve as warnings; and a warning from a higher 
source, when unheeded, becomes a disaster in life. 

Every genuine and well defined feeling expressed 
through any one of the senses, contains its own use- 
ful message to the human mind. But, alas! too often 
the supposedly conscious thinker, self-sufficient in his 
own interpretations of sensuous experiences, and fail- 
ing to read or even to recognize the message, acknowl- 
edges no messenger, but seizes and casts the agent into 
prison as a thief or a trespasser, drugging him into 
insensibility, and blindly stumbling on in his own 
chosen path of personal self-sufficiency. In time he 
meets the doom of ignorance, from which the message, 
perhaps, would have saved him. This tragedy in per- 
sonal life is reenacted continuously by multitudes. It 
results entirely from lack of understanding of the true 
relation existing between the mind and the bodily 
senses. 

The senses are servants of the mind and should be 
directed as well as judged, in all transactions. If prop- 
erly appealed to they will give much information in 
certain restricted lines. But they cannot determine 
matters rightly, because of their natural limitations. 
The rule applies universally. Whatever the mind 
thinks distinctly, the sense that corresponds to it in 
action will report as present. There is no exception to 
this rule. The sense has no choice in the matter. It is 
compelled by the natural working of the law. This 
strongly suggests the mastery of the mind over sense, 
which has before been stated. 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 307 

In the simile of the message and the sender, the 
mind itself, operating in its higher offices of subcon- 
scious m^entality, is the sender of the message, to itself 
in its other or outward phase of consciousness. The 
sense employed is the messenger, and the sensation is 
the message to be interpreted when received. But, 
usually, the conscious mind, while it recognizes the feel- 
ing as a reality in itself, does not apprehend the mes- 
sage which it contains. Viewing the sense which pro- 
duces a feeling of distress, as a disturber of peace , or a 
robber of the mind's comfort and personal content , the 
connection with the subconscious source is ignored. 
And, again, the guiding influence is neglected and the 
individual powers are not exercised. Then, believing 
the bare evidence, and not even testing swords with 
the supposed enemy, but accepting the suggested lie as 
the truth, the supposition is established as a fact, that 
the feeling itself can compel recognition and belief. 
The almost self-evident fact that it can directly pro- 
duce suifering so great that it is almost more than one 
can bear, or joyous response that cannot be resisted, 
even though it lead to satiety and eventually to de- 
struction, bears out the seeming fact of a law operative 
in sense to control the mind and enslave the man. This 
presupposes, also, a power of sense that the body can- 
not resist, thus enslaving both the body and the mind. 

But this is all wrong and entirely unnecessary. It 
is the result of following an illusion of feeling without 
analyzing it. The evidences appear to be there, but are 
unreliable. They are accepted because the mind has 
not been properly appealed to for judgment in the 
matter. The feeling seems so real that the average per- 



308 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

son never thinks of questioning its report, or calling for 
evidence from another source. Few, perhaps, would 
accept such evidence, if it were presented, unless it 
coincided with what they felt. 

The only way to ever learn the truth on any such 
subject is for the mind to thoroughly analyze the feel- 
ing and judge the sensation, thus determining its office 
and its purport. This it can do and no power in con- 
scious understanding can hinder it. Only its own in- 
difference or non-recognition of facts stands in the way. 
When consciousness assumes its own functions, the 
mind actively exercises its powers and all these ques- 
tions vanish in the illusion of their own nothingness. 
The sense, in any event, has only such power as is 
granted it by the mind, under misguided belief in a 
supposed reality in sense. 

All the troubles that man experiences on the mental 
plane, and probably on the physical plane, also, are 
attributable to this cause. They are results of false 
belief, and this is caused by trusting the senses in ac- 
tion. This does not look much like supremacy of the 
mind; but it certainly is not a supremacy of sense. 
The appearances are for a time in favor of sense ; there- 
fore, millions believe and trust their senses. But all 
appearances should be examined. Such as we pass and 
accept without investigation always give us trouble. 
Examination of the assumed power of sense invariably 
turns it out empty-handed. Sense is an instrument, 
not an operator. A servant not a master. It is neither 
a leader nor an adviser in any of the affairs of life. 

The mind, however, regardless of appearances, has 
power over all conditions of personal life, both mental 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 309 

and physical. The physical features are cared for ob- 
jectively by the mind in its so-called conscious phase of 
intelligent action, where body as a phase of life and 
sense as a seeming operator are recognizable. 

On the subconscious plane of action, however, the 
body is constructed, in structure and mechanism so 
intricate that the conscious thought can scarcely recog- 
nize them. Here a superior intelligence appears to 
regulate matters. The mental affairs of external life 
that are involved in the coarser and more common of 
thought-actions, are conducted upon the conscious 
plane ; but all of the more important works relating to 
life are conducted by the mind in a higher phase of 
action on the subconscious plane. These the conscious 
thinking cannot reach, for the mind on that plane can- 
not even conceive them. 

In whichever phase of action one may operate, 
physical or mental, the subconscious plane retains the 
balance of power, and ability. Here the mind is never 
deceived or influenced by any action that has been 
unjudged. It is only in the sense-consciousness, or the 
so-called "conscious" realm that the mind is ever de- 
ceived. And even here it is not at all a matter of 
power, ability or possibility. It is wholly a matter of 
mental indifference. It is also entirely unnecessary, 
because every mind possesses full power to exercise its 
faculties, and these, properly appealed to, will imme- 
diately overrule all sense-evidence and judge its action 
properly. 

The true seat of the mind in its dominion here is 
the subconscious mental region. In this superior realm 
action almost superhuman takes place constantly. The 



310 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

works of this natural and important phase of mentality 
are really beyond comprehension by the mind that ad- 
heres to the sense-plane as a real phase of life, for this 
"belief limits all the powers of understanding. The 
operations of that high phase of individual life are 
usually attributed to supernatural sources. They are, 
however, the perfectly natural operations of the mind 
of individual man. Here he builds his body, molecule 
by molecule, and establishes modes of operation which 
are maintained continuously until death. 

All the action of physical life and the operative 
powers of mental life are freely conducted from the 
subconscious plane. There, error or mistake of any 
kind does not occur. All knowledge of the past is on 
record in its activities, and the right appeal will always 
l)ring forth the required information, provided it is wise 
for the inquirer to have it. Never otherwise. The 
subconsciousness never hears foolish petitions, or grati- 
fies unwise requests. A superior intelligence appears in 
all of its operations and a degree of wisdom is exhibited 
that compels admiration. But this is the real plane of 
the mind of man, only. There are vastly greater and 
more glorious phases of activity and power beyond this 
plane, in the superconscious realm of pure spirituality. 
But this is not our theme, here, and space is inadequate 
for two such grand themes. 

In its own phase of personal and individual life, the 
mind is absolutely supreme. In so far as it recognizes 
and operates with its own powers, it controls every- 
thing on each of its two planes of life. In cases where 
it is deceived the deception is temporary, only, and it is 
always unnecessary, for it has the forces at its com- 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 311 

mand to investigate any subject or phase of life and 
solve any problem. 

The rising of intelligence in the operative depart- 
ment, is the only action necessary for the accomplish- 
ment. As soon as the mind perceives its own position 
in the scheme of life on earth, it cannot fail to recognize 
that it is absolute master, occupying the throne and 
carrying the scepter ; else there could be no world, for 
nothing else in the form of life possesses intelligence of 
the same kind or grade, or adequate to these offices. 
Without intelligence there can be no successful ruler- 
ship. Unless intelligence of the highest order con- 
ceivable, is possessed by the candidate, there can be no 
supremacy. This is self-evident. 

Man, therefore, must be supreme here, and the 
mind is his instrum.ent of intelligence; consequently, 
both in physical and in mental life the mind is supreme. 
The spirit is supreme over all. In their influence over 
the individual, on the higher plane and in all the real 
phases of life in mentality, the superior qualities of the 
spirit are continuously operative. This high and holy 
influence and support is what renders man supreme 
over all phases of the action of life on his own plane. 
Without it he would be only as other species of animal. 

The reflected and reproduced activity of this pure 
life of spiritual principle is the guiding and controlling 
influence that renders the mind supreme in external 
operation. Because of its permanent and enduring qual- 
ities, the supremacy of the mind remains an innate 
quality and power, even through the times of illusion 
and deception that prevail while the individual is deal- 
ing with the senses. Whenever man awakes from this 



312 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

sleep in the realm and life of sense, and of spiritual or 
mental letharg}^, the real activities assert themselves. 
Then he goes forth in the might of conscious un- 
derstanding of those powers which have always been 
his own, though for a time they have remained unrec- 
ognized. He thus assumes the helm, and authority 
immediately supports his arm ; for there is none to 
stand in his way or to successfully contest his claim. 

So long as he leaves gross selfishness behind, and 
rules by virtue of his higher nature, through the forces 
gathered from the subconscious plane, w^here truth 
guides every act in genuine love expressed through 
harmony, the entire world bows to his scepter and loves 
to obey; for in this, each one is simply yielding to the 
highest that is within himself and which he sees per- 
sonified in the other. All forms of earth-life then 
are his own, to rule by loving them all. 

In this living action the mind is truly the man ; and 
in these ways w^e may observe its supremacy. No 
phase of life or action on this plane can surpass or even 
equal the mind, in intelligence, judgment, wisdom, 
knowledge, love or power. Only the pure spirit ex- 
ceeds it, but that deals superconsciously with the spir- 
itual plane of being. When intelligence consciously 
recognizes things it becomes the mind. And the mind, 
in its essence, is spiritual. 

Regardless of what we might wish to do or say in 
any other direction, w^e cannot conceive an}i:hing else 
to which or to whom w^e can attribute any of the many 
superior powers and qualities which are by all cheer- 
fully accorded to the mind of man. When duly con- 
sidered, the real qualities w'hich always belong with him 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 313 

and which invariably respond to right thinking, prove 
his superior position. These quaUties and powers are 
responsive instruments of intelHgence ; therefore, if we 
would meet them in our Hves and share their goodness, 
we must call them out by recognition and anticipation. 

No known instrument of life responds so promptly 
to recognition, or pays so munificently for appreciation, 
as the human mind. The sunlight of confidence will 
draw it as a vine. But in order that it may generate 
the soulful power of attraction, the thought-influence 
must be rightly centered in universal love, else the in- 
fluence will only call forth the animal part, and the true 
mind will not respond. 

In these higher qualities of the soul-nature the 
mind possesses its purer character; and in their silent 
and unseen forces it gathers the powers which render it 
supreme. Nothing can override these powers. If 
properly understood the man himself will be better 
known. Then we can deal more comprehensively with 
him for any purpose in life. 

By virtue of its truth, that which is fundamentally 
good holds a measure of supremacy; and that which 
in any measure is supreme must be fundamentally 
good. 

Whatever problem the mind is applied to with de- 
termination and persistence, can be solved. Whatever 
the task imposed, the human mind is capable of accom- 
plishing it. There are numberless examples of this in 
history, and instances of the truism are familiar to 
all. Some, perhaps, have not thought of the matter in 
just this way, but underneath the more common surface 
thinking all are aware that there is nothing known ex- 



314 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

cept what the mind has already accomphshed in its 
understanding. 

There is a firm conviction in the optimistic mind 
that anything which is conceivable can be conquered. 
With regard to any yet unaccomplished work, a "way 
to do it" is the only unsettled problem. On any ques- 
tion of the universe, there are numbers of searchers 
confidently at work. Results are continuously being 
produced that astonish the staid, settled-down, know- 
it-all-in-advance non-thinkers. These usually are the 
ones to assure us that man himself is a limited creature, 
compelled by a restricted endowment to remain in igno- 
rance of what goes on around him, while even the 
dumb beasts are provided with an "instinct" that often 
exceeds in power even the reason of man. 

These are the sluggards among men, who have not 
yet awakened from the sleep of sense, or aroused to 
the realization of a common inheritance of each in the 
wholeness which constitutes reality. They still sleep in 
ignorance. 

Those who perceive the truths of individual being 
in this light, invariably become optimists as regards 
man's possibilities in future development. They also 
are equally certain of his abilities at the present time. 
In such understanding, the one department of our 
being upon which we depend for all that we hope and 
expect, is the mind. If the individual under observa- 
tion "has a good mind," as the common phrase goes, 
there is much expected of him in his career ; otherwise 
he is passed as unlikely to accomplish anything of im- 
portance in life. This shows that the mind is consid- 
ered to be the instrument of useful accomplishment. 



THE SUPREMACY OF MIND. 315. 

It is but a step from this position to the understand- 
ing of the fact that on the mental plane "the mind is 
the man," and that in all mental operations it is the 
sole object of legitimate study, for everything in human 
life is contained within the mind. This mental man is 
the direct and only operator among physical activities. 

The mind itself, therefore, is responsible for all 
action in external life; and as regards intelligence to 
decide and power to act, it is absolutely supreme on all 
of its planes. Nothing can successfully oppose this 
statement. 

The mind receives its native force and virility from 
its source in spiritual reality, which is the actual throne 
of all that is or can be. This gives assurance of its own 
supremacy in all good works upon earth. While it ad- 
heres to the virtue and Godliness of its spiritual source, 
the home of the soul, and so receives its guidance 
through the soul-nature, direct from the Spirit of Real- 
ity, its supreme authority and power are assured and 
will be effective for good in all deeds and to all per- 
sons. It would appear, therefore, that the mind should 
be studied and understood thoroughly, for the use of 
its powers and its abilities rests entirely within the un- 
derstanding of its nature. 

A useless "supremacy" is of no value anywhere; 
and such a condition is not the true order of affairs 
in life, or of things either in heaven or upon earth. 
Supremacy does not rightly mean either selfish pos- 
session or autocratic authority over others, for purposes 
of personal conceit ; but it represents the power to do, to 
direct and to accomplish through the harmonious in- 
teraction of the whole, superior works for the perma- 



fil6 PRACTICAL HEALTH. 

nent and substantial good of all ; and m the doing, self 
will always receive the last and the least consideration. 
True supremacy is both vigorous and calm ; energetic 
and mild. But it can never be either vain, or neglectful 
of others ; either aggressively intolerant or indolent. 
These are seeming features of the life of sense, but 
they do not belong to the mind. 

If the faculties, forces, qualities and properties of 
the mind were better known, the real qualities of the 
soul would be understood with a deeper appreciation, 
and man himself would be a more holy object for love 
and appreciation. Every man may be to us just what 
we make him through our appreciation of his qualities ; 
for as we think of him so he will act toward us. 

Everything in the world strives in its own way, 
and in its partial power, to put forth energy according 
to the model that we hold in mind for it. Give it the 
necessary conditions and it will do its best. It always 
recognizes the supremacy of the higher influence to- 
ward the reproduction of life. Shall we do less than 
the stone or the plant? 

On this plane of human living the unobstructed su- 
premacy of the mind contains both the blossom and 
the fruit of the promise for a higher development to the 
plane of the superior understanding of things which 
are real. In it, when rightly comprehended, we may 
perceive and understand the divine connection with 
its source, the spirit, of which it is the representative 
here, and for the reproduction of which it labors joy- 
fully in its uninterrupted supremacy. 



